Trinity Bonds
by the lone canine
Summary: three worlds co-exist together, yet not one of them know it. However, two threats from these worlds join forces, and these worlds existences will be unearthed. Beings from all three worlds must unite, to save the things that they hold dear. AU fic
1. Core Invasion

TLC-Yo, whats up everybody?

Kalas-...

TLC-I'm just going to ignore him and start speaking. I took off my NCIS crossover because I had no idea on how to start it. The document is still on my desktop, so I may put it back up eventually once I get an idea on how to start it.

Kalas-and I am just here to do what excactly?  
TLC-Keep the readers reading. Humor my good friend, humor.

Kalas-I never said I was your friend.

TLC-Ouch, thats cold.

Kalas-While it is a great thing that The Lone Canine does not own either Tales of Symphonia or Tales of the Abyss, I will say, this is going to be long.

TLC-...im just going to pretend you never said that. Anyways, I got this idea from staying up real late, flipping through numerous books, and watching several shows, several nights in a row. The summary says it all, well, kinda. One last comment, is that you'd better expect major spoilers starting at the core invasion strategy, and the releasing of the third seal.

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Chapter 1-Mystery dissapearence

High atop the mountinous valleys of Tartaroo, a lone figure stood, watching all of the land in site. The man, as it turned out, was wearing an official Knight uniform, meaning he was of high rank. This particular figure happened to also be, inhuman, and this man would be plotting not only the destruction of one world, but three.

In the city of Grand Chokmah, six legendary figures happened to be taking a legendary break. The six of them, Luke Fon Fabre, Tear Grants, Anise Tatlin, Guy Cecil, Natalia L.K Lanvaldier and Jade Curtiss, were resting inside the palace of Chokmah. Recently, the six of them had found out Van Grants, or Dorian General Grants, was planning to annihelate the world, then recreate it with Fonon technology. Along with his five loyal Generals, and the undercover assistance of Grand Maestro Mohs, he plans to succeed, And he wouldn't let anyone stop him. Including his younger sister Tear. They had begun to stop him from destroying the outer lands, by lowering them with the passage rings. Although it was exhausting, they have managed to survive this long, and now they were planning on silencing the planets core. All they needed was a special device from the operators at Sheridan, and they would be good to go. When they had received the message that they were ready, Jade had assembled the group in the main area of the palace to begin planning.

"Alright everyone, it's time to get ready to head over to Sheridan. Now remember, this is going to be the most important mission we have done up to date. We will probebly be confronted by Van and his Subordinates. So don't be suprised if we do. Just avoid any fights with them at all costs. We lack the offencive power to fight both Van and his Generals at once." Jade said as the others listened in. When he was done talking, each and everyone of them nodded in turn. After a little more planning, the six of them headed out.

Upon arrival in Sheridan, the group noticed nothing out of the ordinary, so they headed straight for the lab.

"Ah, youngsters. You made it here, thats good." Iemon, the leader of class M. Luke nodded and motioned to his friends as he spoke.

"Yep. We wouldn't miss this moment for anything." He responded.

Tamara, another worker, nodded.

"it's a good thing you got here when you did, because it's likely that Dorian General Grants is on his way here now as we speak." She said and looked out the entrance window, making sure no one followed them. Astor, the last of the Trio of workers, tilted his head.

"Something wrong Tamara?" He asked. Tamara shook her head and turned back towards the group. Iemon cleared his throat and the Group began to plan the Invasion Strategy.

About two or so hours in to the planning, the group had finaly reached a good point in their planning, when a loud knock came at the door, though it was more of a slam than a knock.  
"Open up this door in the name of the order!" A loud voice shouted from the other side of the door. Everyone, save for Jade, jumped.

"Damn! they're here! Noelle, ready the Albiore! Everyone else, out the back!" Iemon shouted over the other shouting. He and his two co workers led them out the back, and then blocked off the path that the oracle knights could use. Luke turned around and shouted after them.  
"Hey you guy's, this way!" Iemon and Tamara shook their heads fiercly.  
"Sorry youngsters, but there are more important things than us old people to deal with right now, go! Before they catch up to us and you!" Iemon shouted.  
"But-" Luke started, but Tear grabbed him by the hand.

"Luke come on! We can't do anythinh now, or we'll lose our only shot at this! Don't let their sacrifice in vein!" She said. Luke lowered his head and ran for the port with everyone else, but not before shouting,

"I'm sorry!"

After having a brief encounter with Van and Class I sacrificing themselves as well, the group finaly managed to get aboard the Tartarus and begin the strategy. Upon entering the Core, nothing really stood out except that the area around them was sparkling.

A loud beep sound told them enough.  
"The device is ready, we should get out of here now." Jade said and the group headed out the door, and upon getting on the deck, they earned themselves a surprise. A lone figure stood in front of the entrance to the Room where the Albiore was.

"Sync!" Luke said in suprise, as everyone readied their weapons.

Sync just smirked and got into a fighting stance.  
"I won't let you get away, your going to drown in the sludge here!" With that, he initiated the fight by launching an energy attack at the group, and everyone lept away. Sync's first target was his closest, and that happened to be Luke. He began to launch kicks and punches his way, but Luke blocked them and jumped away. Sync shrugged and turned towards the next closest, which was Guy. Sync launched another blast at Guy, but Tear was closer and blocked the attack with her special guard.

"Thanks Tear!" Guy said with appreciation and lept towards Sync, who was busy fighting Luke again, who kept trying to hit him with his sword. Sync smirked as the sword was having no effect.

"Hah, what did I tell you, you can't-" He started to say but was cut off by a deep pain in his chest. A thin blade was sticking out from his chest, and Guy ripped it out, causing Sync to stumble backwards towards the ledge of the bridge.

"Eh heh heh heh, hah. So, this is it then." Was all he said before falling off of the ship. Everyone was solemnly quiet for a while, and then it was Jade who spoke.

"Everyone, this isn't what were here for." He said quietly, and Luke nodded. Everyone began to run for the Dock area where the Albiore was, but Luke was forced to halt in his tracks when a sharp pain filled his head, causing him to go to his knees.

"Ahg! What, the, Hell?!" He cried out as he kneeled there. Tear turned around and ran over to go help him up, but turned out, starting to heal him.  
`the pain, its fading away.` Luke thought as he rose to his feet, only to see Tear being enveloped in a bright field of Sixth Fonons.

"Wah, Tear?" He could get out, before standing.

"Young warrior, you who is the Scion of my Cousins power. you are needed. Your powers are, all of you. But first you must-" Tear had been saying, sounding to the group like she was possessed.

"What is she saying about this all?" Guy said, but was hushed by Jade. Tear was going to say more, but the light began to fade, and Tear collapsed on the ground, but before she hit it, Luke was fast to catch her.  
"Tear, are you alright? Tear!" He said, but it was no good. She wouldn't respond, being unconscious and all. What happened next shocked them all, an even brighter light began to envelope her, causing Luke to have to back off. He put a hand in front of his eyes to avoid being blinded. Everyone else did the same. Eventually, the light began to fade, and Luke opened his eyes, but he wasn't expecting to see what he saw next.

Tear was gone.

"What?! Tear!" Luke cried out and continued to shout, but Jade pulled Luke away.  
"Luke, get a hold of yourself! We need to go, now!" He shouted. Luke began to protest, but Jade cut him off.  
"We can worry about finding Tear later, but if we don't leave now, we'll be dead." That seemed to have gotten through to Luke, who hung his head solemnly and boarded the Albiore. The ride back to Grand Chokmah was uneventful, but one question hung in the silent air.

Where was Tear?

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TLC-And thats chapter 1!  
Kalas-Jerk.

TLC-what?  
Kalas-you made that poor girl dissapear from her friends, out of the blue. Kind of how Xhela almost-  
TLC-yeah yeah I heard this one before. Anyways, guess where Tear is now? Guess in your reviews, any one person gets it right, (Or you can PM me), and I'll do twice the updating of this story.

Kalas-your horrible.


	2. Lighting Cardinal Kvar

TLC-Hiya everybody, I'm back with a much longer chapter!  
Kalas-And a much longer rant.  
TLC-Hush up. Anyways, this next chapter will have where Tear has suddenly dissapeared to, which can mean only one thing,

Kalas-That your insane?

TLC-No! It's time for the disclaimer! Kalas!  
Kalas-Fine! The Lone Canine does not own either Tales of the Abyss or Tales of Symphonia, and I am sure glad as hell that he does not own Baten Kaitos either.

TLC-But I do play it on the Gamecube system, and I am almost done.

Kalas-Don't remind me.  
TLC-This chapter will focuse mainly on Lloyd's group, and will start with them camping out after releasing the third seal, which is why I said spoilers from that point to the end will be brief moments of Luke's group. Some of which- Oh, I shouldn't be saying that.

Kalas-Yep.

TLC-Shut it. Besides all that, I have nothing else to say.

Kalas-And I can read in peace.

____________________________________

Chapter 2-Lighting Cardinal Kvar

Lloyd Irving, best friend of Collete Brunel, and also Guardian of the chosen of mana, was alongside his other best friend Genis Sage. Along with him, Professor Raine Sage, and Kratos Aurion, he protects Collete, chosen of mana. From Monsters, Desians, and other things. Recently, they had just released the Third seal, the seal of wind, and were now resting because Collete almost collapsed. Also, they were attacked by a familiar assassin, who had attacked them before, on the Ossa trail, near the seal of fire. Once night had fallen over the peaceful land of Sylvarant, Lloyd had decided to go see Collete. Ever since the seal of fire, his most trusted of friends hadn't exactly been honest with him, so it was time to uncover the truth.

He had told Collete to meet him outside of camp, somewhere in the fields, to talk. Lloyd found her in an open plane, and brought her a cup of coffee.

"Hey, you came." He said, trying to be casual. Collete smiled and nodded. Lloyd smiled too, and held out the cup of coffee.

"Here, I had Genis make a cup of coffee for you. Careful, its hot." He said as Collete reached out to take it. She nodded and took it gratefully. she was about to sip from it when Lloyd said,

"It's hot isn't it?" She smiled and said,

"Yeah, it's really hot."  
"Actually it's cold, I had Genis warm it down." Lloyd said, trying to get it out of her.

"Oh, yeah, its real cold." She said, getting nervous now. Lloyd thought in his head, that she couldn't get out of this one now.

"Actually I lied. It's hot." He said, causing Collete to drop the cup on the ground in suprise. Lloyd grew upset.

"I knew it! How long have you been like this?!" He asked, though it was more of a friends demand to know than a question.

"Oh fine. Ever since I released the first seal in Triet, I suddenly didn't want to eat anymore. I try to force it down, but I just can't. Then, when I released the second seal, I didn't feel tired anymore. And now with this seal, I don't feel any pain at all." Collete said, and when she finished, she didn't expect Lloyd to hug her.

"I'm sorry. All this time I never Knew what was going on." Lloyd said with true sincerity in his voice.

"Please don't tell the others." Collete said.

"Why?" Lloyd said, with concern still etched in his voice.

"I don't want them to worry. I want them to be happy at the end of this." She said, and thats all it took, because Lloyd stayed there in that embrace for the rest of the night.

The next day, everyone was up and ready to head out. Although they were ready for the final seal, they needed to know abit more about what it was, and where it could be. The closest city now, was Luin, City of Hope. although it was a sight to see, the place still needed its citizens to get along and help each other to survive, as a Desian ranch was nearby in the woods. Upon arrival in the city, the first thing that Lloyd noticed was that, despite the nearby ranch, it was more lively than one would think.

"Whoa, I never thought that this place could be so lively. From what i've heard, theres a Desian Ranch nearby." Genis was the first to say. Raine nodded and looked around the open area. Kratos, who had been silent for awhile, decided to say something.

"Hah, Sometimes a Desian Ranch won't always come to attack a city or a town. They only do when a city or town protests and revolts." He said. Lloyd only remained silent while looking around. The group began to walk towards the shop, where some good level items are stored, but Lloyd stopped in his tracks, hearing a soft sound. He began to look around but couldn't find the source of the sound. It sounded melodious and sweet. The voice of who it belonged to, he could not determine. Raine had stopped as well, in an attempt to try and get Lloyd moving again. She grabbed Lloyd by his arm, but that did her no good.

"Lloyd, come on! We don't have time to site see. We are only here to determine the location of the next seal." She said, trying desperately to get his attention, but his view was pointed in the direction of a small crowd of people.

"You hear that?" Now Genis said it too, and he also was trying to hear where the sound was coming from. Raine and Kratos sighed and decided to look as well. What they saw was a group of children gathered around a small open area. They were all sitting around an older looking girl, but not much older. She was wearing, what Kratos or Raine could describe, as an elegant brown dress. She had white gloves on her hands, she had Sapphire blue eyes, though it was hard to tell from a distance, and she had long deep brown hair, her bangs covering one of her eyes.

"Wow, she's beautiful." Collete whispered and looked to the others, Lloyd appeared to be gawking. Under the circumstances Raine would have backhanded Lloyd across the back of his head, but she was mesmerized as well. The young girl appeared to be singing, from what Lloyd could make out, and he knew right away that this was the same sound he heard before.

_"Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze, Croa riou ze tue riou neu riou ze," _

The soft voice carried all around the city, and soon people were gathering around to see and hear.

"Wow, i've never heard someone sing like that before." Genis said, and his sister nodded.  
"I know, but whats strange, is that i've never heard this before, and the language is unfamiliar." She said and continued listening. The singing ended after a little longer. Once it was over, the little children, and even the people around began to clap and cheer. Lloyd and the others began to look around, and Kratos just raised an eyebrow, but before Lloyd could say anything, Raine hushed him.

"Alright, alright. I'll be back in this spot tomorow little ones. You can always be here to listen to that. With each coming day, this city will get closer to being safe once more." The young girl appeared to say. Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"The City will be safe? Safe from what?" Lloyd said, which caught one of the villagers attention.

"Oh her? Her name is Tear Grants. She is a young girl we found on the outskirts of the city. Actually, it was me who found her. The poor thing was unconscious until we found her and brought her in. Ever since then, she's been aiding in any way she could to restore the city. She sings for us like that everyday." The villager said. Lloyd raised an eyebrow and focused his attention back on Tear. She appeared to have rapped things up with the children, and was now staring at a fountain statue, with her hands behind her back. Lloyd started to feel giddy all of a sudden, and turned towarsd his group.  
"Hey everybody, I have an idea. Why don't we go say hello?" He said smiling. Raine and Kratos both shook their heads and turned towards Collete.  
"It's all up to the chosen. If she wants to, then we will." Kratos said and Raine nodded.  
"Yes, because we don't have time for small things like that." She added. Everyone turned to Collete, who in turn looked back at them.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She asked, which made everyone start to chuckle, including Kratos, which is rare for the guy.

"No, silly! We want you to decide whether or not we should go and meet that girl over there!" Lloyd said, which made Genis beam, because he knew Collete, and Collete always did what Lloyd did.  
"Well, if it's okay, then lets go say hi!" She said. Lloyd and Genis high-fived eachother, while Kratos and Raine just shook their heads. Lloyd turned to the group and said,

"We should go and talk, get to know her." Genis nodded, but smacked him over the back of the head.  
"Genis, a girl that young and pretty has to have a boyfriend already, so don't even think about it." She said, while Genis was rubbing the back of his head. Kratos just finaly huffed.  
"My apolegies Chosen one, but shouldn't we be going?" He said. Collete sighed as well and nodded.

"I guess your right. So, lets head for the Tower of Mana." She said, and while it did annoy him that he could go say hi, he nodded too. The team was set to go to the Tower, after careful planning, and headed out.

Upon arrival at the Tower, Raine immeadiately went into ruin mode upon seeing the entrance, and she ran up to inspect the Tower, Genis just sighed.  
"There she goes again." He said quietly. Kratos smirked.  
"Lloyd, somethings wrong, I can feel it." Collete said, kind of kneeling down. Lloyd went to her side and knelt.

"Like what? Is it your angel senses?" He asked. Collete nodded and tried to focus.

"I think its coming from Luin, something terrible is happening! We have to go back!" She said and shook Lloyd by the shoulders. He nodded, and apparently Raine thought so too because she said,

"It be best, because we need the Tower Key to get in the Seal. It's wise to head back and confirm Collete's fear." Kratos nodded, and pointed in the direction of Luin.

"Right, Luins in that direction. Lets get moving." He said, and with that, the group headed out.

When they got to Luin, the first thing they saw, certainly confirmed Collete's fear. Luin was in ruins. Buildings were in flames, stone carvings were shattered, and not one person in sight.  
"W-What the hell? What happened here?" Lloyd was the first to say. Collete shook her head.  
"I don't know, but I have a pretty good feeling I know who did this" She said. Raine was looking around and pointed west.

"I do too, look!" She said, and pointed in the direction of the fountain they saw earlier. They all looked and Collete gasped.

"Hey isn't that," She said, upon seing the fountain. There was someone there, it was the assassin, Sheena, who they kept running into at various seals. Lloyd didn't say anything more and begun to make his way over to the fountain. He was the first over there and was suprise to see another person lying next to Sheena. It was the girl from earlier in the city. Lloyd ran up to Sheena and knelt down. Sheena looked up and frowned.  
"What do you want?" She said, sadly. Lloyd shook his head, and helped Sheena to her feet and tilted his head.

"What happened here?" He asked as he looked around the city.

"The Desians came and attacked the city. they took all of the villagers, except for the children. This girl, Tear managed to hide them all below the city." She was saying as she motioned around. She looked back down at Tear and frowned. Unfortunately, the Desian caught on to this and they started fighting her, and then I showed up. I helped fend off the Desians, but as you can see, that didn't come without injury." She said as she looked down at the young teen. By the time Sheena had explained it all, She and Lloyd had come to an agreement, and the others had arrived. Lloyd stood up and raised his arms.

"Guys wait, she's on our side." He said. Kratos held his grip on the hilt of his blade.

"Well then, explain." He said. Lloyd opened his mouth to speak, but another voice cut him off.  
"Too bad for you, I just can't have that now can I?" The voice said, and the six of them turned around, and a short elven looking man was standing on a broken bridge. The outfit he wore said one thing only.

"I am Kvar, a Grand Cardinal of the Desians, and you will not escape again!"

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TLC-finaly! I finished it!  
Kalas-That actually took shorter than I thought it would.

TLC-well, I hate leaving people on cliffhangers, but I like keeping the suspense. See you next time! Oh, and be sure to read and review!


	3. Battling the Wrath of a Storm

TLC-Yes! Third Chapter of Trinity! Although this chapter is the battle against Kvar, Lightning Cardinal of the Desians.

Kalas-Heh, And I am on double duty once more noted on this, and Nest of the Gods, only the difference there, is that I am actually in it!

TLC-yeah yeah, we know, now say the disclaimer wing boy.

Kalas-The Lone Canine does not own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of the Abyss, although there will be some OC's in this story that will show up.

TLC-Heh heh, several updates on my stories will be made this week, as a special present to you all. Why maybe? Because I am overly happy and a PS3 now resides within my reach.

Kalas-and he got a sugary drink that may or may not have been a Monster.

TLC-Nyah!

* * *

Chapter 3-Battling the Wrath of a Storm

"I am Kvar, a Grand Cardinal of the Desians, and you will not escape again!" The voice that hailed out to them, was indeed a Desian. He wore a blueish Desian outfit, he had white hair, an energy staff, and his eyes were really creepy. Like they weren't human. Lloyd raised a fist, Kratos's grip on his sword tightened, Genis raised an eyebrow, and Collete looked around.

"So, who the hell do you think you Desians are?!" Lloyd said, clearly outraged, as the Desians had now destroyed not one home, but two now. Kvar chuckled wickedly.

"Didn't I just tell you? I am a Desian Cardinal, like Magnius, except not a fool." He said, his grin that was plastered on his face growing ever so wider. Lloyd grew confused.

"Huh? Magnius? Your both Desians, there is no difference!" He said, clearly growing more angry. Kvar just laughed, and pointed his staff at Lloyd.

"It has no consequence. We Desians are ranked by our intelligence, our strength. Our speed, and our sight. Each one of us Desian Cardinals have a specific element that we excell in, and we have earned titles that way. For our superior skill, power and knowledge of the outside world. We are in no way related to those who discriminate us." He said, and that last part made Lloyd snap. He pulled out his swords and lept at Kvar, who merely spun his staff and deflected Lloyd's attack, which he then followed up by swinging out and hitting his hand, revealing his exsphere. Kvar gasped, but Lloyd quickly covered his hand.

"Y-you! Now I know where i've seen you before! You're Lloyd Irving from the Angeles Project." He said. Kratos grunted to Lloyd, who nodded, and he raised his blades again.

"Hah, that exsphere is worth more than a thousand souls. If I can get that from you, i'll become the leader of the Cardinals!" Kvar said, and raised his staff once again.  
"You're mine!" He hissed and leaped towards the group. Lloyd and the others, including Sheena, readied themselves for battle, and Lloyd turned to Raine.

"Professor, help her!" He said, refering the the unconscious young Tear laying on the ground. Raine nodded and went to work. Lloyd was the first to attack, and charged at Kvar, sword first. Kratos did the same, and the two unleashed a unison attack.

"Cross Thrust!" They both said, but the attack didn't connect with Kvar. Instead, it connected with a floating mechanism. Both Kratos and Lloyd got a shock when the connected, and were sent flying backwards.

"Umph!" they both grunted, but that didn't stop them from going at Kvar again. Sheena had teamed up with Collete, and the two were handling their own Energy Tablet. Collete was striking at a distance with her chakrams, so it was too distracted to send a discharge out, and Sheena unleashed an attack.

"Pyre Seal!" The attack blew the machine back into the water, which short circuited the thing and it shut down. now only two tablets and Kvar remained. Lloyd and Kratos were holding out against Kvar, while playing it safe. Kratos healing Lloyd when his wounds got too serious, and Lloyd covering Kratos when he needed to heal himself. Genis was on his own against two energy tablets, but he was doing well. He managed to repeatedly strike them with Aqua Laser and Aqua Edge spells, but he was getting tired. He got ready to launch another water spell, when one of the Tablets hit him with Lightning, and Genis staggered backwards, and fell on his back.

"Umph." He grunted, and looked up to see the Tablet getting ready to strike again. He shut his eyes and shrugged.  
`well, this is it I guess.` He thought to himself, and braced himself to feel pain, but it never came. In fact, not only was there no pain, but there was not a trace of the sound of fighting. He felt confused, and opened his eyes to get a shock.

A silver arrow head shaped dagger was sticking out of both mechanism's chests, causing them to split in two. The battle all around had ceased to see where it came from. They all looked at Raine, and noticed that Tear was on her feet, holding a spearlike staff and daggers in her hand. Genis had also noticed that three daggers were sticking out of Kvar's chest, who seemed to be frozen in place. The area was silent for a few seconds, before Kvar collapsed to the ground, dead. Leaving only the silent wind of the once beautiful city to mourn for those who were no more.

* * *

TLC-Hm, I don't know if that was a great battle chapter.

Kalas-Let others tell you.

TLC-Meh. Anyways, like Kvar said, he had a nickname of sorts, and here are the five Cardinal nicknames:

Name Element Title/Rank

Magnius Fire Rank 1:Lion

Kvar Lightning Rank 2:Courl

Rhodyle Neutral Rank 3:Golem

Forcystus Wind Rank 4:Hawk

Pronyma Dark Rank 5:Shadow

TLC-Each Title has a meaning to it, by the way.

Kalas-Like every- wait a sec! Why on earth am I agreeing with you?  
TLC-no idea. Anyways, see you next time folks!


	4. The Necromancer and Betrayel of an ally

TLC-Hiya.

Kalas-...

TLC-...

Kalas-.....what?

TLC-How come you havn't said anything yet?  
Kalas-Because This chapter is so, so

Jade-Fluff.

Kalas-Egad! Where did you come from?!  
Jade-Well, I started-

TLC-Okay, that's far enough, anywho. This chapter is awesome, because now I can mock this not so old man about not being old.

Jade-And I can torch you to prove a point.

TLC-Yeah, okay thats good. This chapter has, as kind of wanted, The Return of Jade! And Dist the Runny!  
Dist from a distance-It's ROSE!!!

Kalas-Sheesh, what's his problem?  
Jade-Oh don't ask.

TLC-Yeah. Anyways, Kalas, say disclaimer so we can get on with the story.

Kalas-The Lone Canine does not own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of the Abyss, and certainly not Baten Kaitos.

TLC-Shut up about that! Sheesh. Oh, and a warning in this chapter is that there is quite a bit of swearing and blood here, so be prepared. If that doesn't faze you, good for you! One last thing, about the title of the chapter, it doesn't mean everything that it says.  
Kalas-Ass.

TLC-Okay then, lets just get on with chapter 4.

* * *

Chapter 4-The Necromancer and Betrayel of an ally

Auldrant...

After Tear's sudden dissapearance, the team, or what was left of it, had begun franticly searching for clues as to her whearabouts, but they had already been through the whole kingdom of Kimlasca, and the entire Empire of Malkuth, and surrounding areas. To Jade, it almost seemed like Tear had dissapeared off the face of Auldrant, which technicly was not possible. They were close to giving up, but Luke would not give up. They had headed over to Belkend to try and find Spinoza, and force him to help them find Tear.  
"I just don't see the point of asking such a cowardly, coward." Anise Groaned. She had never trusted Spinoza from the start, and now they were going to ask for his help, unbelievable!

"Anise, we are going to need his help in finding Tear, he is a brilliant scientist, so it would be a good idea." Guy had answered. He and Natalia had visited Kimlasca to look for Tear, but King Ingobert solemnly had no information, which upset Natalia even more. Guy had grown more protective over Natalia for some odd reason, but no one noticed. Jade spoke next as they wound their way around corners and hallways.

"Spinoza might be a traitor, but I know that he feels guilty for what happened the other week, and now I'm almost certain that he will want to help us." He said, and wound around another corner. Luke had been silent this whole time, remembering the fight with Sync aboard the Tartarus, to Tear's dissapearance. He hated it all. Not being able to protect his friends in their time of need. They eventually reached the last room in the facility, and were about to enter, when Jade raised a hand.

"Wait everyone, I hear voices." He said, and leaned silently against the wall. There were three different voices. One sounded way too familiar for anyone of them to want to deal with.  
"I don't know what your talking about! I have no plans to join those of your enemy!" One voice, which Jade recognized as Spinoza said.

"Well then, where are they?! The core remains netraulized, and yet not a trace of them is anywhere!" Another voice said, which everyone knew to be Van Grant's. Jade raised a silent finger, a signal. One, two, three!  
They burst through the door, weapons at the ready, and came to see, Spinoza, Van, and another woman. She had Violet hair, and a sleek sword in her sheath. The three origionally in the room, turned to see the intrusion. While the mysterious woman readied her sword, Van just laughed maniacally.  
"Ah, ha, ha ha! So you are alive after all. I would have been dissapointed if you had died down there. Especially my dear sister." He said, and waited for a response, but got none. He grew suspicious, so he put a hand on his sword.

"Mysterica? Are you hiding?" He said. Luke was the person to respond.

"You son of a bitch! You are so rapped up in your damn plan to rule the world, that you fail to notice that she is not here!" He shouted, which suprised everyone, including Van, but he responded by drawing his sword, his eyes flared with hatred.

"Oh, and where is she then, foolish replica?!" He said, and took a fighting stance. Luke didn't answer, instead, he charged at Van, sword first. Van smirked.

"Cantabile, deal with the others, but leave the replica to me." He said, and ran to face Luke. The others sighed heavily, and readied themselves. Anise stood to protect Ion, while the others faced off against Cantabile. Luke was doing quite well in the fact that he was fighting his old mentor, alone. They each had gotten in some slashes against each other. Van had a gash on his side, and several cuts on his arm. Luke had a stab wound in his arm, and several smaller cuts throughout his body. Luke swung his sword at Van's leg, but he parried it, and thrust towards Luke's chest. Luke deflected that one, and went for Van's leg again. Van smirked, knowing that he would go for that again, and used an arte, Radiant Dragon. The blast sheered Luke's body, leaving blood to fly everywhere. He Screamed in agony, and hit the ground, clutching his wound. Guy deflected a slash from Cantabile, and turned to see Luke on the ground, sword nearby. Guy growled and turned to face Van.

"Damn you!" He shouted, and went after Van, his anger fueling his strength, sending him into Over Limit. Lept toward Van, leaving him only time to turn and see him coming.  
"Razing Phoenix!" He shouted, and the Beautiful Mystic Arte struck Van with Intense heat, leaving little need to actually connect with a weapon. Van screamed, and flew against a wall. Cantabile ceased her fighting, and ran over to the Commandant. She helped him up, and turned an angry eye on Guy.  
"Guy, I don't know what you see in him, but I'll make you pay." She said, and left the room, with Van close behind.  
The team had helped Luke up and get into a bed so he could rest, and then turned to Spinoza. He shifted his feet uneasily.

"I know what happened at Sheriden was my fault, and I'm sorry." He said, and Ion smiled sadly.

"We know, and it's not your fault. But right now, we could really use your help." He said, and turned to Jade, who nodded.

"Well, anyway I can be of service to you all. What can I do?" Spinoza asked, and Jade stepped forward.

"Well, we have a situation on our hands." He began.

Later, once night had fallen over Belkend, the others had gone into seperate rooms at an inn, while Jade and Spinoza planned on how to find Tear.  
"So, if she isn't on the world map, then there could be only one explanation for all this." He said, and Jade raised an eyebrow.  
"What's that?" He asked seriously.  
"She isn't in _This _world. That's the problem." He answered for Jade.

"But, if your suggesting that- that has been legend for years!" Jade said, shocked at what Spinoza was suggesting. Spinoza nodded.  
"Well, I have been interested in the legend myself, so I researched it, and found something amazing." He explained, and began to type something in to a computer. Jade frowned.

"But how, when people have been trying for years, and all have failed. How did you then?" He asked, confused for the first time in a while.

Spinoza smirked, and walked over to a wall, which opened up to his command.

"Well, I went around the whole world, and searched in and out. On a particular sunny day, I found this." He said, and motioned for Jade to come near him. Jade peered over his shoulder, and was amazed as to what he saw. A Fon Machine was in a hidden corner of the room, and not only was it the first of it's kinds, but it had language written on it that no one has ever seen before. Jade was about to respond, when a loud pounding sound interrupted him. They both turned to see the door knocked off its hinges, and seven winged figures floating there.  
One walked up to Jade.  
"Necromancer, you are to come with us immediately." It said, and Jade frowned.  
"And if I refuse?" He asked, sounding amused.

"Then you and your pathetic inferior beings will be destroyed, along with this city." The figure said, which shut Jade up. Jade agreed to come with them, and followed them out of the room, leaving behind a shell-shocked Spinoza to wonder what the hell just happened.

Sylvarant....

Lloyd and his group could only stare shocked at what had just taken place. Seconds ago, they had been fighting the Desian Kvar and holding their own, and now the mysterious young girl known as Tear had arisen and was in a formidable fighting stance, daggers and staff in hand. Excluding Kratos and Raine, the others just stood shocked at her. Several minutes of silence passed before Lloyd spoke.  
"So, uh, thanks?" He said, still trying to process what just happened. Several seconds more of silence passed before Sheena spoke.

"Thanks for the help Tear, I thought we were done for." She said gratefully, and bowed. Tear smiled softly, and nodded.

"It was the least I could do after all you have done for me." She responded. Sheena nodded, and Genis smirked abit. He nudged Lloyd in the ribs, causing him to rub his stomach. Tear turned around, after a few minutes of talking with Sheena, and spoke.  
"Sheena tells me that you are the Chosen's group, and you are on your way to the fourth seal, the Tower of Mana. She and I think it would help if we came along with you." She said, her voice sounding pleading a little. Collete smiled, and nodded eagerly.  
"Of course you both can. The way you fight, we could complete the journey much faster!" She said, and the two other girls nodded. Lloyd and Genis grinned. There was going to be some serious competition from here on out. There was a few moments of silence before Kratos spoke.

"...but can we trust her?" He said, which didn't seem to faze Tear at all. Instead, she just stood there, in locked gazes with Kratos. Raine, Collete and the others just stood watching, silently. Suddenly, out of the corner of Lloyd's eye, he saw Kvar's hand twitch, which Tear noticed too, and she reacted by jumping in front of him, and throwing up a shield, in time to block the lighting that came out of his hand. Everyone turned to see Kvar standing back up with the support of his staff, laughing maniacally.

"Ah ha ha ha! So, your that old goats-" He started, but was cut off by Lloyd's blades impaling his chest. He ripped them out, finaly killing Kvar. The lifeless body fell to the ground, and the dust finaly settled. Lloyd sheathed his blades, and turned to Kratos, a smug grin plastered on his face.

"Heh, I trust her." He said, his grin growing wider. Kratos sighed, and sheathed his own sword.

"Do what you will." He said in defeat, and the group huddled together.

Genis spoke first.

"So, even though we know where the next seal is, we don't have the key to get in." He said solemnly. Sheena laughed sarcasticly.

"Actually, I know the person who has the key, and I have it with me right now." She said, smiling. Lloyd smiled too.

"Alright, way to go! Now all we have to do is get in, release the seal, get out, and head to the next one." He said. The others agreed, nodded, and they all stood up and headed out to the seal.

Soon after they had reached the seal, they had split into two teams, in order to complete the Tower's puzzles. Once they had, they regrouped at the top of the tower, and the last trial had begun. Collete began to walk up to the last seal, but soon, Powerful Mana begun to collect, which made Collete step back, and the others step foward. Genis spoke first.

"This Mana, it's similar to the kind we saw at the Wind Seal!" Lloyd frowned.

"Great, which means another powerful monster to get in our way." He said glumly. Kratos and Raine stood foward.  
"It's no problem Lloyd, stop complaining." Raine said, and the group readied their weapons.

Lloyd attacked the beast first, which the beast, happened to be a winged horselike creature, glowing golden. He used a sword rain attack, which was followed up by a stalagmite from Genis, an Angel feathers attack from Collete, and a Light spear from Kratos. All combined attacks hit, but the full force did nothing much but make it stagger backwards a bit, and come back at them. It released two black horse creatures from black holes, and they flew at Genis and Collete. They both used defencive artes, which defended well, but they were sent staggering back. Kratos landed next to Lloyd, both were panting from exhaustion.

"Dammit! Nothing we try works! Even a combined attack from all of us didn't do squat!" He said, and noticed a tail coming at him.

"Shit!" He cursed, and braced himself, but the attack never came. He opened his eyes to see the creatures tail stuck in place!  
"What the-" He started, but got the answer he wanted. A soft singing sound filled the air, which seemed to make all the fighting cease. He turned his attention to the source, and found Tear singing, but what?  
_"Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze" _The sound made everyone sort of sleepy, but the beast in front of them found it impossible to avoid, and fell asleep. Lloyd kept his gaze on their new mysterious ally.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted, but Sheena answered for her.  
"Lloyd! That melody she sings can put enemies to sleep! Use this advantage now! She can't do it forever! Perform a unison attack with me! Now!" She shouted, and Lloyd nodded. He and Sheena got into position, and shouted at the same time:  
"Your not going anywhere! Dark Serpent!" Lloyd Dashed forward, engulfed in dark energy, and pierced the Beast's hide, causing it to shriek, and collapse in a heap. They all stood back for a second, and when the creature began to disintigrate, that's when they all breathed a sigh of relief.  
Collete stepped foward to the seal, and begun to pray. A shimmering light appeared above them, and the Guardian Angel of Cruxis, Remiel appeared.  
"You have done well, my daughter. Now pray forth, and release this seal. Once you have done that, the Barrier on the Tower of Salvation will be broken." He said, smiling. Collete nodded, and stood up, to recieve the second last blessing of the heavens. Once she did, Remiel spoke again.

"Good. Now, prepare for the final journey to the Tower of Salvation, and once you have prayed there, the world shall be regenerated." He said, and floated back up, before finaly dissapearing. The silence filled the area once again. No one said anything as they exited the Tower.

Once they had reached the bottom again, things begun to heat up again. Lloyd turned to Tear, nervous at what he was going to ask, and said in a shaky voice,

"So, uh, where did you learn to do that? What you did back up during the battle?" Tear turned to him, and smiled.

"Well, when I was little, my older brother started to teach me them. You see, they are special Hymns passed down from my family from generation to generation." She answered, and Lloyd nodded, sort of understanding.

"Okay, I see. How many different ones are there?" He asked, more curious now.

"Well, there is the first Hymn, the one I used before, Nightmare. Then there is the second Hymn, Force Field, which creates a force field around me, then there is-" She started to say, but stopped. Talking and moving. Lloyd stopped too.  
"What? What is it?" He asked, and got his answer.

"I just feel a little tired, and-" Tear began, but stopped, because seconds later, she fell to her knees, and face first into the ground. Lloyd dropped to his knees, and tried to shake her awake. When that didn't work, he called out after the others.  
"Professor Sage!" Raine turned and came running, followed by Sheena, and then the others. Raine felt for Tear's forehead and sighed with relief.  
"It's just a fever. Come on, lets set up camp. We should rest anyways." She said, and the others obliged.

Later on at night, the group had set up camp. Genis and Sheena were talking, Raine and Kratos were debating, and Lloyd had gone off to clear his head. Collete was secretly following him.

Lloyd walked out into a clearing, and sat down on the open plane. Collete followed. Lloyd turned to see her, and smiled.

"So, what are you doing all the way out here?" Collete asked, and Lloyd frowned.

"Well, i've been thinking. If you complete the world regeneration, then, we'll all be sad, and-" He started, but Collete put a finger to his lips.  
"I know. When we get to the Tower, i'll ask Father and see what he can do, kay?" She said, and Lloyd smiled. Collete stood up, and walked towards the campsite, with Lloyd in close pursuit.

"Come on, lets go. Sheena wants to see us." Collete said.

The next day, after they had all well rested, they had set their course for Hima, the closest village to The Tower.  
Upon arrival at the mountain trail village, they headed for the summit of the mountain. They came into view of the tower, and Genis was the first to say anything.  
"Wow." He said, awestruck. Raine nodded.

"It truly is a magnificant sight, isn't it." She added.

"Yes it is. Do you want to go there?" A voice called out from behind them. They all spun around to see a scrawny old man, probebly in his fourties.

"Yes, why?" Lloyd asked, sounding confused. The old guy got excited.

"I sell rides over to see the Tower, and since you do," He said, which made Lloyd curious.

"Oh you do? How much?" He asked.

"Five thousand gald." The old man said, which made everyone jump.

"Are you insane?! How could you say that to the Chosen one?!" Sheena said angrily. The geezer gasped.

"What?! Your the Chosen's group? If you had told me in the first place, I could have said I could give you rides for free!" He said, and Raine stepped forward.

"Well then, I guess we'll wait in the Inn while you prepare." She said and the old man nodded.  
"Right. I'll be all set to go tomorow." And with that, the group dispersed.  
Lloyd was walking around the village, and decided to visit one of his teammates. He decided to visit Kratos.

Kratos was standing near the entrance of the village, and Lloyd was unnoticed, so he snuck up behind him.

"Nice try Lloyd." He said, and turned around. Lloyd grinned and walked up beside him.  
"So, what's on your mind, you seem depressed?" Kratos asked, which made Lloyd concerned. Kratos never asked about Lloyd's well-being. Lloyd explained his inner feelings, and Kratos nodded.

"I understand where that's coming from. You see, I-" He started, but found that he didn't have the willpower to continue.  
"I'm sorry, just rambling. We should get some rest. Come on." He said, and headed off towards the Inn. Lloyd stood there for a second, shrugged, and went after Kratos.

Early next morning, Kratos got up silently, and walked out of the Inn. He did wake Lloyd up, in time for him to see Kratos walk out of the room.

`where's he going at this hour? Better go find out.` He thought to himself, and quietly followed after him.

He found Kratos standing in front of Noishe, the strange dog-like creature that Lloyd kept as a pet.

"Noishe, I need you to look after Lloyd. He is alone, and if he has no one he'll-" Kratos said, but was cut off by Lloyd shouting Watch out. Kratos drew his blade and stabbed backwards, into a Desian that was behind him.

"Agh! Damn you!" The Desian said, and dissapeared. Kratos sheathed his blade as Lloyd ran up to him.

"Kratos! You okay?" He asked.  
"Lloyd, thank you." Kratos said, as the others came running out.  
"Heya Lloyd, Kratos. We're all set to go." Genis said, and Lloyd nodded.

"Okay then, lets do this." He said confidently.

They arrived at the Tower not long after thanking the dragon salesman for his help, and headed in.

"Huh. It looks like Kratos and Collete have already went in." Lloyd said, and Sheena frowned.  
"Just like HIM to show us up." She said, pouting. Tear frowned.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this." She said, concerned. Raine nodded.

"So am I. Lets be on our guard." She added. The group walked in through the entrance to the Tower, and were shocked to see what they saw. Hundreds upon thousands of coffins were slowly orbiting around the walkway and the tower.  
"These must be-" Genis started, and Raine finished.

"All of the Chosen's who have failed up to this point." Everyone gasped, and Lloyd grew determined.

"We gotta hurry after Collete and Kratos!" He said, and ran down the walkway, with the others in close pursuit.

They took a warp circle to the Main area where the seal was and so was Collete. She had already prayed and was now receiving the last blessing of Cruxis. Lloyd ran up to the seal and cried out.

"Wait, Remiel! What are you doing?!" Remiel looked down and grinned evily.

"I am completing the regeneration Journey. When I came down to play the role of Guardian angel, I did not expect to see such fools down here, but now that I have completed this mission, I shall become one of the four Seraphim." He said, and Lloyd raised a fist.

"You Bastard, you lied to us!" He said, and drew his blades. Remiel laughed.

"I have no more need for any of you, begone!" He said, and dissapeared, only to reappear in front of Lloyd. He waved his arm and attempted to knock him back, but Lloyd summersalted away from Remiel and towards the group. They all readied their weapons, and the fight began.

The fight itself was lasting for more than two hours, and the group was getting exhausted. Even Remiel was getting tired. Lloyd survayed the area, to see where his team was. Raine and Genis were at the far right, and Sheena was busy fighting still. Lloyd noticed that Tear was behind him, and he got an idea. He vaulted backwards towards her and huddled.

"Hey, I've got an idea, but I need you to sing again to do so. Are you up for it?" He asked, and Tear nodded. Lloyd ran back towards Remiel, as Tear began to sing.

_"Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze" _The soft melody carried throughout the battle field, and just like the days before, when she sung and put the Light Seal Guardian to sleep, Remiel found his eyelids getting heavy. He fought to stay awake, but it was no use, and soon, he was slumping on the ground. Lloyd ran up to Sheena, and they both nodded.  
"Dark Serpent!" They both shouted, and Lloyd pierced right through Remiels chest, sending blood everywhere. Lloyd landed back next to Sheena, which then they both regrouped with the others.

"Agh! No! It-it can't, be! I can't, how, can an angel of Cruxis, be defeated by, inferior, beings?! Ahg!" He said, and hit the floor, clawing at the ground.

"It is because the strength of one's passion and goal can easily overpower any weapon." A familiar male voice called out. Everyone's attention was averted to the speaker, Kratos.

"Kratos! Where have you been all this time?" Lloyd asked. Kratos jumped down from where he was and landed in front of him.  
"I was, taking care of a few things." He said quietly. Remiel raised his head with his dying breathe, and said,

"Kratos, you, you-" But he couldn't finish, because he lost too much blood, and layed there, dead.

"Kratos, what's-" Lloyd started to ask, but was cut off by another voice.

"There you are, my dear sister." The voice called out, and everyone turned to see a grayish hair colored man, with a Goate on his chin, a unique outfit, with strange markings on it, and a sword at his side. There were three angels with him, and another man. He was in his early thirties, had Crimson eys, wore a blue military outfit, and had his hands binded. Lloyd raised a blade at the newcomer.

"And just who the hell are you?" He said, which came out more like a demand than a question. The older man just chuckled.

"Children these days, they have no manners what so ever. Fine, I shall tell you my name. I, am Dorian General Van Grants, and this Tower shall be your grave!" He shouted, and Lloyd frowned.

"Sheesh, that, my friends, is corny as hell." He muttered, and the others agreed. Van Growled and drew his blade.  
"You think you have what it takes to stand up to me? Hah! Lets see you try." He said and lept down towards them. The group, excluding Kratos, took a step fowards, but Tear ran up in front of them and raised her arms.

"Wait, everyone! Please! You aren't strong enough to beat him!" She said pleadingly. Lloyd gave her a confused look.  
"If we can take down an angel, we can take this guy down." He said determined. Tear shook her head, and turned around.  
"Just go and run. Take Collete with you, I'll try and stall them as long as I can." She said, and Lloyd gave her a suprised look.

"Hold up! You expect us to just get up and leave you here like that?! No way!" Lloyd said, and would have continued, had Raine not grabbed his arm and pulled him to face her.

"Lloyd, come on! We have to let her do this! She is giving us time to escape and help Collete! Don't let that go in vain!" She said, and waited for a response. Lloyd hung his head, and began to turn away.  
"Dammit!" He swore loudly, and began to run out of the tower, with the others except Kratos close behind. Once she was sure they were out, Tear turned to face her brother. Van took a threatening step towards her.

"You should have run, dear sister. At least then, you could have lived the onslaught of the angels." He said. Tear grinned.  
"But then what kind of a friend would I be?" She said, and unexpectedly threw one of her knives at the othe man who had been standing with his hands tied. The dagger slice through the bonds, and Tear smiled. The man leaped toward her and landed next to her.

"Just like old times Jade?" She asked, and the familiar brown haired Colonel grinned.

"Indeed it is, Tear." He said, and Materialized his spear in his hand. Van growled.

"Then this is goodbye, Mysterica." He said, and charged.

The others continued to run, even after they were well away from the Tower, trying to think of what they should do now.  
"Dammit! I'm so damn sick of people sacrificing themselves. It's not right!" He said, and Genis nodded. Raine frowned.  
"Wait a sec, where's Kratos?" She said, and they all stopped running. They all looked around and Lloyd answered.

"He must have stayed behind to give Tear a hand in holding them back, damn-" He said, but was cut off by the mercenaries gruff voice.

"Good thinking Lloyd. Except that, you should be far away from here by now." They all turned to see Kratos and Jade walking up to them. Jade was carrying a Badly wounded Tear Grants, while Kratos was grasping a slash wound on his shoulder. The others ran up to them and Raine spoke first.

"What happened?!" She said. Kratos grunted.

"Well, General Grants attacked us relentlessly, and we did manage to push them back, but not for long, and not before we received our share of wounds." He answered, and Sheena pointed to Jade.  
"And who's he?" She said sternly.  
"He, is Jade Curtiss. He is going to be a valuabal ally in stopping what Cruxis has planned. He is also refered to as the Necromancer, and now, we need to head to the Triet Desian base. If we want to rest." Kratos said, but couldn't make Lloyd cease eyeing Jade suspiciously.

"Lloyd, we need someone to trust right now, and we all need to rest. We should just go along for now." Raine said, and eventually, Lloyd nodded. They all turned in the direction of Triet, and broke into a dead run.

* * *

TLC-Ha ha, ha! Bet you thought it was Kratos that was going to betray them, didn't you?

Kalas-Nah, the guy is too nice to do that.  
Jade-Heh, thanks for making me carry this unconscious girl around.  
TLC-No problem.

Jade-I was being sarcastic.

TLC-(grins) I know. I just love making you angry.

Jade-(readies his spear)  
TLC-Eek! (Runs away with Jade in pursuit)  
Kalas-Ahhh, peace and quiet. Anyways, readers, be sure to R&R please, and this story gets updated faster.  
TLC-Ahhh!  
Kalas-Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go break up a fight between the old man and a certain author. (Runs out of room)  
Kalas from a distance-No! Stop fighting! No TLC, put the sharp thing down. We don't want anyone to get- uh oh.  
TLC from a distance-Sayanara everyone! (Laughs maniacally)


	5. Three worlds: The truth comes out

TLC-Yes! Chapter Five now makes this my longest story so far. thanks to everyone who has been following along and Reviewing!  
Kalas-Someone is just jacked up on Japanese candy.

TLC-I am not.

Kalas-Are too!  
TLC-Sigh. Anyways, this chapter will have some new Alliances made, between unlikely people, and the third world will be introduced: Tethe'alla! Here are the three worlds: Auldrant, Sylvarant, and Tethe'alla.

Kalas-And guess what? This chapter was done while he was in class, during P.E. and ignoring the teacher.

TLC-I am NOT irresponsible.

Kalas-TLC does not own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of the Abyss, though quite a few people do wish that a second game would come out of Tales of the Abyss.

TLC-Me being one of them, though I don't have a general idea of what it would be about.

Kalas-I am not going to slap myself for saying that out loud.

TLC-......Eh?  
Kalas-Never mind.

TLC-I am done talking, so you may read now.

* * *

Chapter 5-Three worlds

The group of now seven, plus an unconscious teen, ran as fast as they could in the direction of the Triet Desian base, unsuspecting that they were being expected.

Lloyd had been frowning the whole trip, because he was still frustrated that he made the decision of having to run while Tear fought for them, against a powerful enemy, that none of them had expected. Kratos had frequently turned around and told Lloyd to stop frowning, and cheer up because they were almost there. When they had finaly arrived, they didn't expect a greeting. One Desian walked up to them, saluted them, and spoke.

"Welcome. We have been expecting you. Please, come in." He said, and motioned to the door. Lloyd turned towards the others, and waited for a response.

"Come on Lloyd, we don't have time to play guessing games. Tear needs medical attention, and we need to know what we're up against." Raine said, and Lloyd nodded. He turned around and nodded to the Desian. The Desain nodded, and walked into the base, with the others behind him. They were led through a maze of winding hallways, down stairs, and up stairs, until they finaly entered the meeting room.  
"So, you did survive the General's wrath, I'm impressed." A voiced hailed out to them upon entering the room, which caused them all to shift their attention to the source. A blue haired Desian was standing in one corner of the room, he had a dark colored cloak, and what was most noticable was that he was the Desian that attacked Lloyd and Kratos in the past. Lloyd pointed an accusing finger.

"You! You're the Desian that attacked us numerous times!" He shouted, but Sheena put a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"Shhh! Remember, We're trying to make allies, not more enemies." She whispered, and Lloyd begrudgingly nodded. Another Desian came into the room from behind them and grinned.

"Ah, our guests have arrived." He said. The other Desian nodded.

"And I see that Kratos is with you. Conveniant." He added. Lloyd raised an eyebrow, but it was Genis who spoke.

"Wait, you were expecting us, but you weren't expecting Kratos?" The blue Desian nodded. He turned to a desian that entered the room, and spoke.

"You. Take their Companion and bring her to the medical room." The desian nodded.

"Yes sir." He said, and walked over to Jade. Once they were out of the room, The blue haired Desian turned to the others.

"Now, I suppose you want answers. Myself and Botta will exlain." He said, and turned to Botta.  
"At the tower, you fought the angel Remiel, correct?" He asked, and Lloyd nodded.  
"Yuan, our leader, has been watching their movements for awhile, and once we had found out what they were planning, we began to make preparations." Botta said, and turned to Yuan.  
"You are aware that Sheena is not of this world, correct?" He asked, and Raine answered this time.

"Yes. She said that she is from, Tethe'alla." She said, and Yuan nodded.

"The Desians you see in this base in Triet, are actually a seperate group called the Renegades. We fight against the Desians, and watch Cruxis' movements closely in case of any changes that are made. Now, the enemy that you met at the Tower, after the fight with Remiel, Van. There something not natural about him that I sensed about him. So I snooped around a bit more, and found that Van isn't from this world either." He concluded, which raised gasps from everyone, including Sheena. Botta added on.

"What's even stranger is that there was no record of him existing here, or on Tethe'alla." Botta said, and more gasps were heard. Kratos finaly spoke up.

"So, what your saying, is that Van is not from either worlds. And your suggesting the presence of a _Third World_?" He said, but Yuan shook his head.

"we can't make anymore assumptions until we know more." He said, as a Renegade came in.

"Your friend is awake, and wishes to speak with you all." He said. Lloyd nodded and turned to the others.

"Come on, lets go tell her about our developements." He said, and walked out of the room with the others behind him.

Upon entering the room, they were greeted by two more Renegades and a semi-smiling Tear Grants. Yuan told the other Renegades to leave them so they could talk in private. Once the room was quiet again, Lloyd spoke.

"...So, you feel any better?" He asked. Tear nodded. Sheena smiled.

"Well, thats good. But we still have the little problem of our new enemy, and a mystery on our hands." She said glumly. The others nodded solemnly. There was silence before Lloyd spoke up.

"If your feeling up to it, do you think you can help us out?" He asked Tear, and she nodded. Jade spoke up.  
"Then we'd better take a seat. This is going to be a long talk." He said, and the others agreed.

Once the others had gotten situated, Tear began talking.

"Myself, and Jade here, are not from either Tethe'alla, or Sylvarant." She began, which caused Lloyd to face Jade.  
"Hold up, you knew something and you kept it to yourself?" He asked, but Jade cut him off.  
"It was better to keep it in, at least until Tear had awoken so it would be easier to explain." He said, and before Lloyd could question any farther, Botta spoke.

"Then where are you from?" He asked. Jade answered.

"We are from a distant world known by myself and Tear as Auldrant. The world, instead of Mana as life force, we are made up of energy called Fonons. It is the replacement for Mana in our world. Perhaps maybe because Mana once existed there before." He Continued.

Kratos nodded.

"That would make sense. Considering both of your affinity for Mana, that would explain it." He said, and then Raine spoke.

"But if that's true, How did Tear and Jade get here in the first place?" She asked, and Jade answered.

"We're, not sure. You see, like the summon spirits of this world, there are Sentiences in Auldrant that control the elements. The most powerful Sentience of them all, Lorelei, was being drained of its energy by Van, and so myself, Tear and a team we had organized inflitrated the Planets Core, and after a battle with one of Van's own Generals," He went on, and turned to Tear, which made everyone turn to her.

"Something spoke to me before we were able to leave, and it said that this world was dying. I, found myself dissapearing. Thats when I woke up in Luin." She said, and Lloyd began to put the pieces together.

"And that's why we saw you in Luin, and why Kvar said that thing he said. That's how we began to Journey together." He concluded, and Tear nodded.

"Yes. and that's-" She started to say, but was cut off by a sharp pain in her head." Jade raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Genis spoke up.

"Wait. When Van showed up before us, he said, _Dear Sister_. What did he mean by that?" He said confused. There was silence before Tear finaly spoke up.

"That is because Van is my older Brother." She said bluntly. Everyone looked shocked, including Kratos (TLC-Which by the way, it isn't easy to shock Kratos). Yuan spoke next.

"That would explain what I overheard about a Sister. They were talking about you." He said, refering to Tear. Botta spoke next.

"But there is still that matter of finding Auldrant, and finding any potential allies that are there." He said, and Jade spoke up.

"If we could get there, I'm sure my companions would be more than happy to help." He said, and Sheena spoke next.

"I got an idea. Yuan, do you have Rheards in here?" She asked, and Lloyd frowned.

"Re-what?" He said, but Yuan ignored him and nodded.

"Yes, why?" Sheena grinned.  
"Before I came here, I heard the Chief researcher at Sybak talk about a strange frequency being recieved from a far off isle. Maybe, If we can get to Tethe'alla-" She said, and Lloyd spoke up.  
"Then we could possibly find Auldrant!" He concluded, and Yuan spoke.

"Then, if your going to fly in Tethe'alla, you'll need this." He said, and handed Lloyd a small compact device.  
"What's this?" He said, and Botta answered.

"It is Wing Pack. Tethe'allen technology. Use it to keep the Rheards hidden." He said, and then Yuan brought something else out. He handed it to Jade.

"When you get to Tethe'alla, give this to the researcher. He'll know what to do with it." He said, and Jade nodded. Collete had been quiet the whole time, when Jade suddenly spoke up.

"That reminds me. Van gave me this crest, in hopes of it controlling me." He said, and brough out an ancient looking Crest. Kratos' eyes widened.

"That's a Rune Crest. With this, we can give it to Collete, and she will be back to normal." He said. Lloyd grinned, and Tear spoke.

"But, once we get to Tethe'alla, without Volt's magic to support us, we won't be able to fly." She said, and Botta nodded.

"We noticed that. So, we packed an Elemental Cargo in here too. Use it to travel over water." He said, and Genis smirked as Raine frowned.

"It worked!" Everyone turned to see Lloyd and Collete standing side by side. Collete looked around confused.

"Huh? Why is everyone looking at me like that?" She asked, and everyone laughed. Once they had packed up for the trip to Tethe'alla, they regrouped in the Rheard hanger. Yuan turned to Lloyd.

"We've installed a long distance voice communicator in the Wing Pack so we can keep in touch over the three worlds." He said, and Lloyd nodded while everyone was boarding a Rheard. Yuan turned to Kratos.

"Good luck!" He called out as Lloyd's group flew off into the distance. Botta walked up beside him.

"Will they be alright?" He asked. Yuan nodded.  
"They will. I have faith in that young girl." He said, as they watched Lloyd and the others fly off in the distance.

* * *

TLC-Hah! And you said that I couldn't finish this chapter before the weekend was over.

Kalas-...

TLC-Hah! Wait, Huh?  
Kalas-I didn't say anything.

TLC-Then who, ah never mind. Next chapter is the second last chapter before Lloyd's group meets Luke's group. Next chapter will have the appearance of, Zelos Wilder! I can't wait to think up funny things for Jade to say about Zelos. And the departure to Auldrant. That's chapter six. Chapter seven is the reunion.

Kalas-That's mean to want to make fun of Zelos. Read and Review?  
TLC-I never said I was making fun of him. Anyways, see you later!~


	6. The Legend of Trinity The Gate, Sever

TLC-Ohayo! (That's one way of saying hello in Japanese)

Kalas-And you are giddy because...?

TLC-This is chapter Six! Which means that next chapter will have a Reunion. But, don't expect no suprises this chapter.

Kalas-...I don't get it.

TLC-`Sigh`

Kalas-..Disclaimer, Right?  
TLC-Hai.

Kalas-the lone canine does not own tales of the abyss or tales of symphonia. They rightfully belong to Namco.  
TLC-I feel refreshed. Story time! (Oh, and I gave a name to the Gate that Lloyd and the others travel through. Why? You'll have to read the chapter to find out.)

* * *

Chapter 6-Sever, Tomb of the Lost

Lloyd could practically feel the tearing of Time and Space as they entered the Gateway to Tethe'alla. It seemed as though there was a noticable difference in the Mana supply, Genis noted, as they appeared over the oceans of Tethe'alla. Collete smiled as she glanced down at a snow covered country and pointed.

"Look! That's a lot of snow!" She said cheerfully, which made Lloyd partially laugh. But he didn't notice because he was distracted. His attention was directed at Tear. Even though she has saved their lives on a number of occasions, and she shared a secret that not a soul should know, but after finding out that Van was Tear's brother, and she told Lloyd personally that Van had taught her the Hymns she knew, it made him unneasy. When Kratos noticed his distraction, he flew his Rheard closer to talk in private.

"What's on your mind Lloyd?" He asked, and Lloyd frowned.

"I don't know. It's just, when Tear told us that Van was her brother, I suddenly felt a huge knot in the pit of my stomach. Like something is trying to tell me not to trust her." He said unneasily. Kratos nodded comfertingly, and quickly stole a glance at Tear to make sure she wasn't listening. Then he turned back.  
"I understand your feelings. If hear not, hear this:  
She nearly lost her life to save yours."  
Lloyd became unusually quiet, and decided to drop the matter because what Kratos said made sense. The rest of the flight was uneventful, except for at the end, when the Rheards engines went out.

"...Uh-oh. What was that?" Lloyd said nervously. Sheena frowned.  
"The Rheards engines. Their out of fuel." She said bluntly. Every began to scream as they fell towards the ground. Well, except Jade, who just had this smug grin on his face and had his arms folded as they fell. Sheena shouted over everyone else, a command.

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Everyone brought their arms over themselves as the Rheards neared the ground. One thought ran through Lloyd's mind as they fell.

This is gonna hurt.

Lloyd awake with a grunt as he slowly sat up from where he laid. He quickly glanced around to make sure there was a proper head count. Collete, Genis, Raine, Kratos, Sheena, Jade, and Tear were all accounted for, so he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he realized another thing. This wasn't his world, so he didn't know where he was. He reached over to wake up Sheena, but a grumpy sounding voice cut him off.  
"Touch me and your dead Lloyd." She said as she sat up. She looked around and frowned.

"Great. We're outside of Meltokio, the capitol city of Tethe'alla. Not to mention the biggest." She moaned. Lloyd raised an eyebrow as the others began to stir, he asked a question.  
"You sounded dissapointed. Why?" Sheena grinned evily, but soon frowned again.

"You know how Collete is the Chosen of Sylvarant, right?" She began nodded.

"Well, just like there is a Chosen in Sylvarant, there is a Chosen here too. However, unlike Collete, the Chosen here, well, lets just say he is a complete Idiot." She concluded harshly, which made Lloyd grin.

"He? Ha, ha. The Chosen here is a HE?!" He said, and began to laugh hard, which made Kratos frown, and Jade grin. Lloyd picked himself up with everyone else, and once he was sure they were all here, he let people speak.

"So, where are we?" Genis asked, confused yet excited at the same time. Jade looked around, frowning.  
"Perhaps those soldiers can tell us." He said, as he pointed towards an oncoming group of guards. Everyone readied themselves for a fight, but it was Tear who remained calm.  
"You there, kid! With the brown hair, step forward!" One soldier, obviously the leader commanded. Lloyd assumed that they were talking about him, so he stood foward.  
"I am here. What do you want with us?" He called out to them, and the soldier saluted.

"We are here, on the orders of the Pope, to pick up one of our associates." He said, and Sheena frowned.  
"That's not good. The Pope here doesn't follow the rules of the King very well, and as of late, he has been acting on his own." She said sounding annoyed. Lloyd cleared his throat, trying to break the silence that ensued after Sheena's comment, but it was the lead knight who broke the silence.  
"We would appreciate it if she stood foward now, so we could go back." The leader said, and everyone raised an eyebrow, but the lead knight got a new idea.

"Or, if it makes you all feel better, you can come with us so you know where we are going." He said, and Jade nodded first.  
"That would be well appreciated. Thank you." He said, and the leader noddded.

"Then follow us." He said, and walked towards the city. Lloyd walked up to Kratos and spoke in hushed conversation.

"Should we follow them?" He asked sounding worried. Kratos shrugged.  
"We don't have a general idea of where we are, and plus we need to stock up on supplies. So for now lets follow them. If we need to, we'll wait for a chance to slip away later." He answered, and Lloyd nodded. He was concerned about something else too.

Tear. Just who was she?  
Upon entering Meltokio, Lloyd noticed two things. One, that the city was well deserved to be the capitol of Tethe'alla, and two, the place was absolutely gorgeous. In terms of breathtaking that is. Genis looked around in awe.

"Wow. This place is enormous!" He quietly exclaimed, and Sheena responded to his comment.  
"Meltokio is known for many things. The amount of luxery it has is one." She chuckled as a thought of the Chosen ran through her mind. They reached a stairway, and the lead knight stopped.

"I am afraid this is where we part. Our Associate will follow from here, and when we're ready for you, we'll come get you. You are free to go through the castle, as long as the Chosen one is aware." The knight said earnestly, and Lloyd frowned. He still didn't know who their associate was, but that question was answered when Tear stepped after them. Raine's face was one of contorted confusion.  
"Wait! Where are-" She started, but Tear turned and smiled.

"I'll be back in a moment. Behave yourselves, kay?" She said, and Lloyd nodded slowly.

"We'll just be waiting out here in the city until then." He said, and Tear nodded as she walked away. Sheena ran up in front of Lloyd and and growled.

"Hey Lloyd! Why don't you stop her?!" She said angrily. Lloyd shook his head.

"If I tried to, not only would I arouse suspicion, but I'd start a scene eventually." He said, and Jade nodded.

"The young one has a point." He said, and Lloyd smiled, knowing he was right, but frowned when Jade called him young.  
"Hey!" He pouted, and everyone began to laugh, and Lloyd sighed.  
"Hey guys, since Tear said, to look around the city until she gets back, shouldn't we look around?" Collete asked eagerly, and Kratos nodded.

"Good idea. If something should occur, we need to know the city inside and out if we need to escape." He said, and Lloyd got excited.

"Alright then! Lets go!" He said Gleefully. Sheena spoke.  
"Why don't we visit the church of martel here? It's just up the path those knights took, and it's pretty close by." She said, and Genis spoke this time.  
"Good idea. Perhaps we could meet some people we can trust here besides our good friend Sheena." He said, and Lloyd nodded.

"Alright then, lets go." He declaired.  
They were walking through the central area, when Collete wasn't watching where she went, and bumped into someone. She swung her arms franticly and fell backwards.  
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there I-" She began, but the person cut her off.  
"There's no need to apologize my dear hunnie. The great Zelos Wilder always forgives those like you." The stranger, Zelos said. Sheena frowned.

"Oh great. It's the Chosen one." She muttered, and Zelos looked past Collete to Sheena.

"Huh? Sheena? What are you doing here? The chief send you here on an assignment?" He asked, and Lloyd chuckled quietly.

"No. I am here on seperate orders from a different source. These are my companions. Everyone, this is Zelos. The Chosen of Tethe'alla." She said, which aroused gasps from the group, except Jade, who kept a trained eye on Zelos.  
"Of Tethe'alla? Wait? You aren't from Tethe'alla?" Zelos said confused. Lloyd glanced at Sheena, who nodded.

"Actually no. We are from Sylvarant." He said simply. Zelos raised an eyebrow.

"From Sylvarant eh? So you must be the Chosen ones group then." He said, and Collete nodded.  
"Yep. I'm Collete Brunnel. The Chosen of Sylvarant." She said, and Zelos grinned. Lloyd frowned.

"Uh-oh. Lloyd," Sheena said, and Lloyd grew an amused look. He walked up to Zelos, who wasn't expecting anything, and without warning, Lloyd hoisted Zelos from his feet, and threw his in a random direction. Jade grinned evily.  
"Whoa. My bud. I didn't realize you were so strong. Not bad." He said, and Jade laughed.

"Actually, it has nothing to do with strength. Your just light and Lloyds just careless." He said, which got annoyed "Heys" from both Lloyd and Zelos. Then Zelos got an idea.

"Say, why don't you come with me and meet with the king? It's not far, and I'm sure there is a reason as to why your here in Tethe'alla. Sheena was about to protest, but Kratos spoke.

"Good idea. Then if you would, take us to your king." He said, and Zelos nodded.  
"Alright. But first things first, I need to know all you names." He said, and Lloyd nodded regretfully.

"Well, you know me and Collete. Theres Genis, Professor Sage or Raine, Kratos, and Jade." He said, and Zelos nodded gleefully.

"Okay then. Follow me if you would." He said, and walked towards the Castle.  
After gaining admission from the guards, Lloyd and the others entered the Castle, and Genis gawked.  
"Whoa, I didn't think a Castle could be this large." He said, and Zelos turned around.

"Yep. Actually, this is the only place considered a Castle in all of Tethe'alla. Now then, the Kings place is this way." He said, and walked up a flight of stairs to the right. The others followed tow, and soon they were in front of a large set of doors. Zelos turned around and motioned for them to wait there.

"Wait here. I'll talk to the King." He said, and walked into the Chambers. Lloyd pushed up against a wall, and was struggling to stay in one place. Kratos sighed heavily and spoke.  
"Lloyd, the King of Tethe'alla is a busy man. It's likely we'll have to wait a few days." He said, and was corrected when Zelos emerged from the room after ten minutes.  
"His Majesty is ready to speak with you all." He said formally. Lloyd nodded. They walked into the room, and were greeted by a grumpy old man with a gold staff, which Lloyd assumed to be the Pope Sheena mentioned earlier, The King himself, and Tear, who looked real cheerful.

"Welcome travelers of Sylvarant. Me and my people welcome you to Meltokio." The King began, and Lloyd bowed.  
"It is an honor your majesty, that we could be here." Lloyd said respecfully.  
"With that out of the way, I suppose we should get to the point. Now, Zelos tells me that you need our help with something. What is it?" The King said. Sheena answered this time.

"Your majesty, has there been any, _rumors, _about a third world that exists between here and Sylvarant?" She asked. The King waited a bit, before sighing heavily.

_"In past time, where two worlds meet, boundries are held together, by a strong energy, that is unknown to man. To this day, the third world bides its time. If it is ever to reveal itself, this should be known by a young Brown haired Madien descended from a founder, and a crimson eyed man who's knack for finding truth has guided him. These two beings shall appear to us, in a time of crisis and sacrifice. Two enemies of legend shall join forces, and three worlds must unite together in order to bring peace, unity, and a gift so precious, it is worth more than gold, and weighs more than an entire kingdom. With this passage, the Legend of Trinity will be true. The Gateway of Sever shall awaken to whomever has the ability to control the night, command the winds, and strike the earth with Lightning. The path to a new world will open to the one with a pure heart, and new friends shall be made. This is my last wish. Find the third world, and bring them together, my Daughter."_ The King sighed after such a long speach, and everyone had taken a seat to listen. Once The King finished, Lloyd spoke.  
"So, you'll help?" He dared to ask, and the King nodded.  
"We cannot refuse an offer that could grant us Unity with the three worlds. Now, the Legend has been passed down from the Tethe'allan kings for Generations, and now it was time to tell you." He said, and Zelos spoke next.  
"So, if we want to find Auldrant, we'll have to find the Gate of Sever, and go to this third world and unite them. But how?" He asked. Sheena spoke next.

"Well deal with that problem when we get to it. Now this part about controling the Night, commanding the Winds, and bringing Judgment to the earth. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that it's refering to the Elemental Spirits of Darkness, Wind and Lighting. Shadow, Sylph and Volt." She said, and this time Jade nodded.

"Probably. All three spirits are in our grasps. Shadow and Volt reside here, while Sylph is in Sylvarant." He said, and Lloyd spoke this time.

"Since we already have Sylph, forming pacts with Shadow and Volt shouldn't be so hard." He said, and got backhanded by Raine, which Jade grinned at.  
"Shadow and Volt are two powerful spirits Lloyd. We had difficulty battling Sylph remember?" She said. Lloyd rubbed his head where he'd been hit.

"I get your point." He frowned, and Genis laughed.

"Volt's temple is near my home, Mizuho, and Shadows in near the Snowy City Flanoir. Since We'd need to fly to reach Flanoir, lets take Volt first." Sheena said, and Kratos nodded.

"Right. It's better to have a plan than to rush in head first Lloyd. I thought I told you that." He said, while scolding Lloyd at the same time. The King spoke up.

"You'll all need to get some rest before you head out, so feel free to stay here the night. Also, Zelos, I want you to accompany them on their Journey. See to it that they succeed." He said, and Zelos nodded.

"Yes your majesty." He said, and turned towards the others.

"Come on, I'll show you the room we'll be using." He said, and walked out, with the others in tow, unaware that Tear was following them.

They entered the room, and Colletes face lit up.

"Wow, this place is amazing! I didn't know you live here Zelos!" She exclaimed, and Zelos grinned.  
"Being the Chosen of Tethe'alla, I am expected to live up to certain standards." He said. Lloyd glanced around the room, and grinned.  
"Heh, cool room." He said bluntly. Kratos slapped a hand to his forehead as Jade grinned. Zelos grinned too, because this was the part where he got to come up with names for everyone.

"Alright, since we'll be traveling together, I thought I'd give you all nicknames!" He said, and Sheena frowned.

"Oh no. Brace yourself." She said, and Lloyd chuckled.

"Alright then. Lloyd is Bud, Genis is brat, Collete is Little Angel (^_^), Raine is the Professor, Kratos is wise guy, and Jade is Red Eyes." He said, and Jade began to speak.

"My name is-" He started, but Zelos cut him off.

"Quiet old man." He said, and Jade turned away, pushing his glasses up on his face.

"You'd better sleep with one eye open." He muttered under his breath. Lloyd began to talk.

"So Zelos, do you know where we go to get Volt exactly." He asked, and Zelos nodded.

"It's-" He started, but was cut off by another voice. A very familiar voice.

"I could show you." It said, and everyone spun to see Tear standing in the doorway.

"Oh hey Tear. Didn't know you were there." Lloyd greeted, but a different voice responded.

"...Surround the buillding. Room too." Tear said, and within seconds, Papal Knights filled the room.

"W-what?! What the hell? What are you doing Tear?" He said angrily. Tear growled..

"Don't call me that. That is no longer my name." She said icily, which sent shivers down everyones spines.

"Then what's your name?" Kratos said, his hand gripping his blade, ready to force the info out in necassary.

"My name is Storm Aegis. I am the strongest warrior within Commandant Grants' army, and my mission is to capture and bring you to him." She said, but Lloyd shook his head in frustration.

"No that, that can't be! You've been with us since Luin. There's no way you would," He started, but couldn't find the words to continue.

"It was all a ploy. To lower your defences, and make you vunerable." She said, her voice as cold as ice, but this time Collete protested.

"No! That's not who you are!" She tried to say, but was drowned out by the thrashing of metal coming up the stairs. Jade tried to glance into said-storms eyes, and found a shock. Her eyes weren't the same calm serene blue color they once were. They were now a clear lighting blue color, and also Storm's hair was darker than Tear's. Only one thought came to mind

She was a Replica.  
`No, that's,` Jade thought but couldn't think of anything. Zelos held his hand on something beneath his outfit, and Lloyd couldn't quite place what it was.

"Surrender now, and there will be no harm to you. If you don't, well, lets just say it won't be pretty." She smirked, and that's when all hell broke loose. Zelos threw what he was holding, a sword of his own, and shattered the glass, which suprised even Storm.  
"Everybody out! He said, and without a moment of hesitation, they all jumped.

Once they were out, they hit the ground running, and none of them stopped. Once they reached the exit, they neared a port area. Lloyd didn't miss a beat, and called out the EC that Yuan gave them. Silence fell over the group, and the tension began to ease. The trip to the Tower was their choice, not stopping to rest, and they were on their way. Not before the Wing Pack buzzed, and Kratos started the Long Distance Messanger System (LDMS). Lloyd took it and his voice was frantic.

"Yuan. We have a serious problem." He started, and Yuans voice didn't faulter, instead, it grew serious.

"I know. It's Storm isn't it." He said, and Lloyd grew confused.

"Wait, how do you know about that? And yes it is." He answered.

"After you left, I infletrated the Tower again, to spy some more, and found the young girl you had with you there. I was shocked, but I found out that she wasn't MIss Grants, and that she was someone named Storm Aegis." He said, and asked his own question.

"Where are you?" Sheena took the LMDS from Lloyd, and answered.  
"Somewhere near Volt's Temple." Yuan was scrunching his forehead.

"Why are you all the way out there? Have business with him?" He asked.

"We found out that there is a Legend about Auldrant, and that we need to gather the help of Shadow and Volt to get there." She answered. Yuan sighed.

"A Legend?" He asked. Sheena repeated the Kings words exactly.

_"In past time, where two worlds meet, boundries are held together, by a strong energy, that is unknown to man. To this day, the third world bides its time. If it is ever to reveal itself, this should be known by a young Brown haired Madien descended from a founder, and a crimson eyed man who's knack for finding truth has guided him. These two beings shall appear to us, in a time of crisis and sacrifice. Two enemies of legend shall join forces, and three worlds must unite together in order to bring peace, unity, and a gift so precious, it is worth more than gold, and weighs more than an entire kingdom. With this passage, the Legend of Trinity will be true. The Gateway of Sever shall awaken to whomever has the ability to control the night, command the winds, and strike the earth with Lightning. The path to a new world will open to the one with a pure heart, and new friends shall be made. This is my last wish. Find the third world, and bring them together, my Daughter."_

Once she had finished, Yuan was quiet for a minute, before responding.

"Then the Gate has to be at The Tower of Salvation." He concluded.  
"Why?" Genis asked. Yuan grew tired.

"An old Ceremonial Tomb is under the Tower. I found it on one of my scouts in the tower, and I was amazed at what I saw." He said. Lloyd nodded.  
"Alright then. Can you meet us at the Gate? We'll be with you once we've formed pacts with Volt and Shadow." He said.  
"Alright." Yuan answered. The connection ended, and Collete spoke.

"So, are we ready? Volt's Temple is right over there." Sheena nodded, and stood up.  
"Everyone ready?" She asked, and plenty of nods were exchanged.  
"Then lets go." She added, and walked towards the tower.

Days later after defeating and forming pacts with Volt and Shadow, (TLC-Sorry if I don't Include fight scenes here. Theres a big one coming up) the group headed to the tower, and found Yuan and Botta there.  
"I see you've made it here. We're going on ahead to make preperations. Catch up with us." He said, and walked into the Tower.

The others went into the Tower, and were suprised at what they saw.

"What? This looks like the Tower from Sylvarant." Lloyd said, and his question was answered by a familiar ice cold voice.

"Because the two Towers are crossroads to the three worlds, therefore this is the same tower." Storm said, and the others spun to face her, but she wasn't there. Lloyd spun around to see her near the final seal.

"It's you again. Why do you do this?" He asked. Storm's expression did not change.

"Because a world of Unity would only bring destruction." She said, and readied a sword. The blade had prongs coming off the sides of it to make it look deadly, which it was. Lloyd shook his head.  
"That's not true. Tethe'alla and Sylvarant have lived together in peace, and nothing bad has happened." He said, and Storm argued.

"Yes there has been. The Mana shortage between the two worlds." She answered, and Lloyd frowned.

"That's not it either. The shortage was caused by the Kharlan war severel thousand years ago. It was a result of foolish thinking that wasted away time that could have been spent making the worlds better. It's not Not because of today." He responded. Storm growled and pointed her sword.

"I'm wasting my time talking to you. I'll end this here." She roared, and leapt at Lloyd, who had his blades drawn in time to deflect the blow, only to have a second slash from below, and a third from above. He managed to block those too, but had to jump backwards to avoid the next attack.

"Fang Strike!" She shouted and continued the onslaught. Lloyd continued to deflect blows, and Storm continued to thrust and slash. She had to flip backwards to avoid being impaled by Kratos though. The true fight was ready to begin, when another voice called out to them. This time a serene and sincere voice.

"Wait, everyone!" They all spun to see their original Hymnist friend Tear run into the fray, clutching a wound at her side, and holding her staff in the other.

"Wait, I'm confused. There are TWO Storms?" Zelos frowned, but Sheena shook her head.

"No, that's Tear!" She shouted, and was set to run, but yet ANOTHER person ran into the room.  
"Damn, thought I lost him." Tear mutted between breathes. Storm shouted.

"Sync! You were supposed to keep her away from the Tower." She said, and the God General frowned.  
"She runs fast, even for a girl." He muttered, and Lloyd readied his blades again.

"What's that suppose to mean?" He said. Sync was ready to spit back a response when another voice filled the air.

_"Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze" _The Hymn made Sync and Storm's eyelids grow heavy, and that was all the opertunity they needed.

"Guys hurry!" Lloyd shouted, and the others ran past Storm into the seal, which happened to be the entrance to the Tomb.

_**Sever, Tomb of the Lost**_

Lloyd and the others had been walking down the endless corridors of the Tomb for awhile, and Kratos had graciously offered to carry Tear, who accepted the offer. She had fallen asleep, or unconscious, none knew, as they were walking. They eventually entered a huge cemetary area with coffins everywhere. Zelos frowned.

"Great, now the beautiful and amazing Zelos Wilder has gotten webs all over me." He complained, and Jade grinned.

"The Amazing Zelos Wilder be an amazing baby." He said mockingly and before Zelos could retort, they reached the Gate, with Yuan and Botta standing by it.  
"What in the name of Cruxis?" Botta swore, and Lloyd spoke.

"Don't worry that's the real deal, not Storm." He answered, and Yuan nodded.

"Then lets not waste another minute. Sheena, if you would." He said, and Sheena nodded. She stepped towards the giant slab of stone that was at the end of the caveroom. She began to summon, when Lloyd grabbed her arm.  
"Sheena be careful!" He said as he pulled her away. Just in time to avoid being sliced in two by a huge tail. Sheena turned to see the others and a giant, ugly, weird mix between a skeletal spider, and a skeletal giant. The creatures Rib bones moved in and out like a normal functioning body, and Yuan swore.

"Damn! It Veietos!" He said, and readied a dual ended blade, as did everyone else.  
"What is Veietos?" Lloyd asked as he dodged a swing from the multi-armed beast.

"Veietos is the Guardian of Sever. His origional duty was to guide the failed chosens to their fate, but now I suppose he serves another purpose." Botta said as he dodged a tail slash. Raine turned to Sheena.

"Keep up the summons. We'll deal with the beast." She said, and Sheena nodded.

Genis cast a flame lance spell at Veietos, but the beast literally grabbed the spell and snapped the spear in have. Lloyd gasped and frowned.

"Well, magic spells won't work." Genis said, but Raine and Collete spoke at the same time.  
"Not for you, but maybe holy spells."  
"Judgement!"  
"Photon!"  
The two spells hit their mark, and Veietos shrieked in pain, just as Sheena Shouted triumphantly.  
"The Gateways open guys! Lets go!" They all spun towards Sheena, but she was already entering the Gate.  
"Lets go then!" Lloyd said, and everyone ran into the Gateway, right before it closed up again.

They weren't coming back for awhile.

* * *

TLC-Ha, ha, ha! This is done! And maybe longer than chapter 4. Maybe not.

Zelos-Ahg! Stupid spider webs.  
Kalas-Sheesh, grow up.

TLC-Right to the point, thanks Kalas. Now then. This marks the last chapter till the reunion. Next Chapter: What's Lost is found again. Maybe a corny title, but we'll see how it plays out.  
Kalas-You know what I'm gonna say. Read and Review please! And this story gets updated faster.

TLC-I know your all wondering about Presea and Regal. They come in a little later on. Storm is my personal OC from my story on Fictionpress, and nothings different except the look. Her eye color is there. I just thought I'd use Storm in here, and have her as Tear's- Whoops! Too much info. One last thing, hopefully sometime in the near future I'll have a DeviantArt account, and Character Art for my OC's from both my FanFiction account and my Fictionpress account will be up.  
TLC-Sayonara Mina! (Japanese for Goodbye everyone.)


	7. Poisoned by Fate

TLC-Finally! The Reunion is this Chapter! How will Luke react to the new group that Jade and Tear have been acquainted with?

Kalas-Who knows. I do know however, that I am mad that Nest of the gods is on Hiatus.

TLC-I don't know how to continue that story right now!

Kalas-Fine.

TLC-Oh yeah. I found out, for you Final Fantasy fans, that Final Fantasy XIII is coming out in English in March next year. Just thought I'd let you know about all that.

Kalas-So, The Lone Canine does not own Tales of the Abyss, or Tales of Symphonia.

TLC-Nope. But on the site, FictionPress, I do own all my characters in the story Eye of the Storm, and Storm Aegis, the OC who is posing as Tear.

Kalas-Is Storm open to go on a date?

TLC-Pervert.

Kalas-Am not.

TLC-`Sigh`. Well, this chapter will take awhile, and if I remember correctly, should become the longest chapter in the story thus far. Maybe. With all the stuff that goes on.

Kalas-I guess you get to read now.

TLC-Yep. Because I am done ranting. Oh, and thanks to those who have been Reviewing this story and following along with it. This story is my best one I've done yet, and it gets better. Read on now.

* * *

Chapter 7-Poisoned by Fate

"Waaaa!" Lloyd shouted as the entire group of now nine fell through the boundaries between the Tower and Auldrant. A huge white hole appeared in the sky and Lloyd's group fell through it, towards the planet Auldrant.

"Aaaaaah!" Lloyd continued to shriek with the others, except Jade, who was grinning and folding his arms again, like during the crash into Tethe'alla. He landed on his feat, followed by Tear, Yuan and Botta. The rest of the group fell flat onto the ground. Lloyd got up and rubbed the back of his head, and shot a glare at a giggling Tear, who apparently found this funny.

"Me falling into the ground is not funny!" Lloyd shouted in a joking manner, and Genis started to giggle too.

"Actually Lloyd, you falling face first into the ground is very funny." He chuckled, and Lloyd was ready to whip back a remark, but a loud whine interrupted him, and everyone spun around to see horses dash by them at breathtaking speed.

"Whoa! Look at those horses!" Sheena said in awe, and Jade chuckled.

"It's probably the Emperor launching another search crew for me." He laughed, and everyone gave him confused looks, but Tear answered for them.

"You see, here we have two nations. Kimlasca and Malkuth. Jade is from Malkuth, while myself am from a neutral nation known as Daath. Kimlasca is ruled by a king, Ingobert the IV, while Malkuth is ruled by an emperor, Peony the ninth" She said, and Raine nodded.

"That makes sense. Considering this is such a large world, two nations would be required." She said, and Lloyd frowned.

"Eh, what?" He said, absolutely confused with Raine's comment. Kratos spoke up.

"We should find the nearest town so we can rest for the night." He said, and Jade nodded as he looked around.

"Good idea. I know where we can go, that's relatively close by." He said, and pointed to a large city of machines.

"Belkend, one of two places in the world with absolute advanced technology." He said.

Lloyd and the others followed Jade and Tear into the city, and further into a research facility. The came up to a door, and Jade motioned for them to wait here, but he spoke to Yuan and Botta.

"You two should come with me and Tear into this room. There's a scientist who you can work with in here." He said. Yuan and Botta nodded. Jade opened the door, and upon entering, was greeted by an overly cheerful Dist the Reaper. Dist grinned excitedly.

"Oh, Jade! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you but couldn't find you anywhere!" He said, and Jade grinned as he pushed his glasses into place.

"Well, I was avoiding you for sure." He chuckled, which made Dist fume.

"Well, you haven't changed at all." He remarked, and Jade merely shrugged.

"Did you really expect me to?" He asked. Dist frowned.

"Not really, but I'd expect you to try and be nice to me." He said, his temper slowly rising. Jade chuckled.

"Now Dist the Runny-" He began, but Dist fumed again.

"Its ROSE!" He shouted, and Yuan and Botta raised an eyebrow.

"Dist, where is Spinoza?" Jade demanded, and Dist smirked.

"Oh him? I sent him to find all six catalysts for our dear Professors resurrection." He grinned, and this time, instead of remarking, Jade readied his spear, and in seconds was at the General's throat.

"You did what?!" He said angrily, and Dist slowly pushed the spear away, not wanting to be shish-ke-babbed. Jade put his spear away, having gotten an idea. He reached behind Dist, towards his chair, and a loud "Ca-chunk" was heard. Dist began to wail as Jade retrieved the Flightstone that made Dist's chair float. Dist waved his arms around frantically.

"Wait, wait. What if I told you where you could find your friends?" He pleaded, and Jade loosened his grip on Dist's Flightstone.

"Where are they?" Jade said darkly, and Dist began to frantically wave his arms as Jade began to squeeze the stone.

"Alright, alright! Their at Mt. Roneal! Their going to release the Sephiroth there!" He said, and Tear turned to Jade, a panicked expression in her eyes.

"Colonel! They can't do that! That would put too much strain on Luke's body!" She said, and Jade nodded. He turned to Dist, and dropped the flightstone, and got ready to leave, but remembered something.

"Actually, I'm going to borrow this room. Tear, can you take it from here?" He asked, and Tear nodded. Jade motioned for Yuan and Botta to come closer, and Tear began to leave, but Dist spoke.

"You know, the young boy isn't exactly tired, seeing as though Asch is helping them out." He called out, but Tear said nothing as she left.

She entered the hallway, and Lloyd was the first to speak.

"Hey, do we have a location as to where were going yet?" He asked, and Tear nodded.

"We're going to the snowing lands of Ketersburg. My other friends are there, and Jade wants us to meet up with them." She responded, and Zelos raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, so the old man ain't coming with us? Sweet!" He said, but was sent reeling backwards as Sheena smacked him over the back of the head.

"Owww! What was that for?" He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"For being insensitive. Tear is home again, and finally gets to see her other friends again. So shut up." She said, and Genis chuckled. Tear ignored them, and walked away. She looked over her shoulder and spoke.

"Come on. Lets get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us." She said, and the others nodded and followed after her.

They came into the open streets of the city, and were close to the inn, when suddenly Tear stopped, ran into an alleyway, and pressed herself against the corner, as if to hide herself. Lloyd raised an eyebrow. He was about to speak, when Sheena pointed in the direction of Van's office building.

"Look!" She said quietly, and the others looked in the direction she was pointing, and they all saw two woman standing outside the building, conversing. They began to walk their way, and Lloyd felt Kratos tense up, as if to say, "Get ready for a scuffle". The group made themselves look like they were just tourists, as the two ladies passed by. Lloyd caught what they were saying.

"So, with all this havoc that'll be cause by IT'S resurrection, do you think the Fabre brats and their band of fools would notice, Cantabile?" One woman, a blonde said. The General shrugged.

"Who knows. Maybe they'll be to busy trying to release the Sephiroth at each location to notice. They sure do have their hopes crushed now that they think that Tear is dead, and that the old colonel is missing, Legretta." She said, and Legretta chuckled.

"Maybe this time, we'll finally get it done. Their supposed to be at Mt. Roneal, right? Come on, lets go." Cantabile said, and ran off, with the other General behind her. Once their were a good distance away, Lloyd's group ran into the clearing.

"Did you hear that?! Unbelievable!" Genis spoke first, and Raine nodded.

"They seem to be trying to lower their enemies defenses by demoralizing them." She said, as Tear ran back into the clearing.

"Come on, we need to get to the inn. Before someone sees us." She said, and they all nodded.

Once they were safely inside the Inn, Tear sat down on one of the nearby beds, and the others sat down too.

"Well, this is as good a time as any to talk about how this place works." She began, and the others nodded.

"I'm sure that woman who looks like me, Storm, had to explain a bit about this place to avoid suspicion from you guys. Anyways, my brother Van, is head of something within Daath called the Oracle Knights. They have the most military sources out of the three nations. The Oracle Knights are made up of several factions, but the leading groups in them, are the god Generals. They are seven extremely talented or brilliant minds who all have experiences with battle, and have been there to serve my brother and Daath." Tear said, and Genis frowned.

"But if the Knights are supposed to protect and serve, why are they against the world?" He asked, causing Tear to shudder a bit. Collete tilted her head.

"You okay?" She asked. Tear nodded, a bit weary.

"Yeah. Just a little tired." She said, and decided to continue the conversation.

"Anyways, the Oracle Knight Generals are Arietta the Wild, Dist the Reaper, Largo the Black Lion, Sync the Tempest, Asch the Bloody, Legretta the Quick, and Cantabile the Cruel (TLC-I couldn't think of a different name for her, so bear with me here). Although Asch doesn't side with Van's ideas, so apparently he is with my other friends. Legretta and Cantabile you saw in the city earlier today." She said, and Sheena nodded, while she used Zelos as an armrest.

"Yeah, those guys who claimed you were dead." She said, but Tear cleared her throat, making Sheena be quiet.

"You got to see a brief encounter with Sync at the Tower of Salvation when you fought Storm." She said, and had to stop herself when she felt a wave of nausea come over her. Lloyd frowned.

"You sure your okay? I mean, you've had a lot to deal with. Being jerked between worlds, finding out things you probably wish you didn't know, Etc." He said, but Tear snapped.

"I'm fine!" Which made everyone grow quiet, including Kratos. Her shoulders sank.

"I'm sorry about that. I just," She started, but Sheena interrupted.

"Hey girl, don't worry about it. You have a lot to deal with right now. Nobodies mad at you." She said, and Zelos managed a nod from his uncomfeterable position being used as an armrest.

"Yeah, so don't stress! We're all behind you." He said, and Tear smiled.

"Thanks everyone. Now there's-" She began to say, but stopped when she heard voices.

"The shouts came from this direction Forcystus, I'm telling you." A scrawny, annoyingly familiar voice said, and Lloyd silently cursed.

"Damn, they found us." He muttered, but Tear shook her head.

"Come on, lets get out through the window." She said, and silently opened the window, and leaped through it, the others right behind her. They managed to escape the city in time, just as a blue haired man and Dist walked in. Well, Dist didn't so much walk as he floated. Forcystus growled.

"Well, if they were here, they aren't now!" He shouted. Dist snickered.

"Not a problem. My own Kaiser Dist creation shall silently follow them, and attack them once they reach their destination." Dist began to laugh maniacally, and Forcystus frowned. He wasn't sure if Dist was insane or just stupid. Either way, he would find his prey.

And it would not escape again.

Tear and the others managed to make it a good distance from Belkend, and to Grand Chokmah, Malkuth's capitol. They all brought themselves to a halt.

"Few, I think, we can, finally, stop running, now." Lloyd said between pants. Tear nodded.

"Yeah, I think we lost them." She answered. Everyone, except Kratos and Collete were tired. Sheena spoke up next.

"So, where are we going now?" She asked, and Tear pointed towards the nearby Theor Forest.

"There, into the forest. That'll take us into the capitol of Malkuth, Grand Chokmah. There, we can meet up with his majesty and request a ship to take us to Ketersburg." She said, and Lloyd was about to respond, when something caught his eye. He glanced around, trying to see what it was, but it was gone now.

"Something wrong Lloyd?" Kratos asked. Lloyd shook his head.

"Nah. Just thought I saw something." He said, and soon Zelos was looking around.

"We'd better watch ourselves. I think someone is following us." He said, and Lloyd nodded.

"Right. Now lets go." He said, and they all headed into the forest. The trip was uneventful, except for the end. Zelos yawned.

"Ahh, I'm tired. Tear, we almost there yet?" He asked. Tear turned around and nodded.

"We're almost there. There will be guards at the entrance. That's how we'll know." She said, and Genis soon got really giddy.

"Oh boy I can't wait to meet this guy!" He said, and Raine smacked him over the head.

"Genis this isn't a field trip." She said bluntly. Kratos stepped forward, his hand on his blade.

"Watch yourselves. Someone's here." He said, and they all looked around.

"Where? I don't see anything." Lloyd said. Tear turned towards a shadow, and her eyes went wide.

"Everyone! Look out!" She shouted, and they all turned in time to see a huge robot crashing through the trees. They were all forced back, but they all picked themselves up, and readied their weapons. A maniacal laugh filled the air, and Tear frowned.

"Oh brother." She muttered, as Dist floated down from the sky.

"Ha, ha ha ha! Stand down, you insignificant worms, and grovel at the most beautiful of the god Generals, Dist the Rose!" He shouted, and Lloyd chuckled.

"For a guy, he sure looks like a girl." He said, causing Dist to casually swing his hand.

"You're just jealous that I am the most beautiful here." He said, and Lloyd chuckled.

"Yeah I'm not jealous of you. I'd be jealous if I had a girlfriend and she went out with a different guy." He said, making Dist furious.

"Ignorant fools! Fine, you shall taste the wrath of Kaiser Dist R!" He said, and let his robot do the fighting. Lloyd and Kratos both leaped forwards to slash the machine. Their blades bounced off, and Kaiser Dist swung its arms at the two warriors, sending them flying backwards, but they landed on their feet. Sheena used her Pyre seal tech, but that did little more than stun the machine momentarily before it knocked her back as well. Tear struggled to remember how she and Luke defeated it the first time.

_Jade walked casually towards Dist's machine, his arms behind his back._

"_You think you have won, but your machine has one fatal flaw._

_Splash!"_

Water! That's it! Tear turned to the others.

"Wait! Only water Fonic Artes hurt this machine!" She shouted, and Genis grinned.

"Water you say? Okay then, Spread!" He said, and a geyser of water erupted from the ground, causing Kaiser Dist to shudder. Tear turned to Lloyd and Kratos, who both nodded. They both jumped forwards again, this time sure they could defeat it.

"Cross Thrust!" They performed the unison attack, slicing through Kaiser Dist, and causing it to convulse, before it exploded into a million pieces. Dist began to hover around, and fume.

"Why you-" He started, but shouting and voices came from the direction of the city. They all turned to see guards coming their way, armed with spears.

"Uh-oh. I think our fight with this creep caused too big of a commotion and attracted guards." Lloyd said. The guards surrounded the group, and they had no choice but to surrender.

"What is going on here? Let me through!" A voice called out behind the guards, and Tear gasped.

"Your Majesty? Is that you?" She called out, and got an equally surprised response.

"Wait a sec. I know that voice! Now you have to let me through!" The other voice said, and the guards parted to reveal a blond man, who didn't look that old.

"I knew it was you! Tear!" He said, and smiled.

"Good to see you too your majesty." Tear smiled also, as Peony looked around.

"So who are these people with you right now?" He asked, and Tear shook her head.

"I can explain, but we need to do this somewhere more private." She said, and Peony nodded.

"Come with me." He said, and walked off, the others in pursuit.

They got into the Palace, with Peony in the lead, and they all followed him into a large open area.

"Welcome to Grand Chokmah travelers!" He said cheerfully, and Tear cleared her throat.

"Your majesty, I would explain the whole thing right now, but we don't have much time. I need to get to Mt. Roneal so I can catch up with Luke and the others before the god Generals do." She said, and Peony nodded.

"No problem. That was my first thought too." He said, and turned to one of the guards in the room.

"Have one of my ships ready for transportation to Ketersburg." He said, and the guard nodded.

"Yes sir." He said, and ran out of the room.

"So, since you've been gone, there has been a lot of rumors going around about what happened to you. Some people believe that you died, others think that you ran off with a man, and before you say anything, that rumor was started by some Oracle Knights. One theory though, is that you disappeared into another world, and that Jade was soon to follow." He said, and Tear hung her head.

"Well your majesty, that's exactly what happened." She said, and Peony raised an eyebrow.

"Really? If so, that would explain the sudden decrease of activity of the Oracle Knights. See, after you dissapeared, a bunch of Oracle Knights were seen at the Radiation Gate. No one knows why though." He frowned, but Tear semi-smiled.

"It's alright. We'll deal with this once we're back together as a group again." She said, and Peony's face lit up.

"Your right. Now then, I suppose the trip to Mt. Roneal will be treacherous, so you'll need these, coats." He said, and brought out several red cape-like coats. Tear nodded, and turned around to face the others.

"Are you ready?" She asked, and Lloyd immediately nodded.

"Never been more ready." He said, and the whole group cheered silently, and they all walked out the door.

The ship they were on from Malkuth, one of Peony's many Flagships, _The Infletrator,_ was all set once they got to port, and they didn't waste anytime at all. They boarded the ship, the ship set out, and they were on their way. They spreaded out around the ship, to have either privacy, or to have seperate conversations.

Genis was on the main deck, glancing around at the sky. Raine silently walked up behind him, gave him a tap on the shoulder, causing him to turn around.

"Oh, hey sis." He said quietly. Raine scrunched her forehead.  
"What's on your mind?" She asked. Genis frowned.

"Not much, but, I just feel sorry for Tear. I mean, she's been away from home for awhile, and now that she's back, it just must be hard." He said solemnly. Raine nodded.

"I know what you mean. But give her some time. She'll pull through." Raine said, and Genis decided to perk up.

"Yeah, your right." He said, and began to laugh, and so did Raine. Laughter of happiness.

Tear was by herself at the top of the ship, and was thinking to herself, as her silky hair blew in the wind.

"Brother..." She said to herself, but was interrupted by a familiar spiky brown haired swordsman.

"Mind if I come up here?" Lloyd asked. Tear nodded.

"Yeah it's okay." Lloyd walked over to her and stood by the railing, while Tear propped herself on the railing.

"So what's up?" She asked cheerfully. Lloyd tilted his head.

"You sound awfully cheerfull." He said, and Tear smiled.

"I just enjoy the scenery here. It reminds me of someplace safe and peacefull. What about you? Are you ready to meet them?" She added on. Lloyd shrugged.

"Well, as ready as I can be. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out." He said, and chuckled.

"So, how much do you wanna bet Zelos will get smacked by girls in this world? Funny thought." He asked, and Tear chuckled herself.  
"Yeah, it is." She said, and looked off into the distance.  
`I'm coming Luke.` She thought to herself.

When they finaly arrived at Ketersburg, they didn't wait long, and they headed out of the city, and arrived at Mt Roneal.  
The snow hazardly blew in the wind, as some of the group had to hold onto their coat-capes, Genis especially. It was rather quiet during the walk, but they all kept their ears in tune to listen and watch for enemies. Lloyd slowly walked up to Collete, and smiled.  
"So, this is Auldrant. I didn't know what it would be like, and this is absolutely gorgeous." He said, and the Blond Chosen smiled.

"Yeah. Getting to meet people like Tear and Jade teaches you how important life really is." She said back, and Lloyd nodded. He gave her a hug, and walked over to Tear.

"So, what about you? You ready to see them again?" He asked, and Tear nodded nervously.

"Yeah, for the most part I am." She said, and was going to ask Lloyd something, but something painfull entered her side, and she stopped walking. Lloyd stopped walking too, and frowned.  
"I'm getting a bad feeling about something." He said nervously, as Tear grasped her side.  
"So am I. We're being followed." She said, as she lifted her hand, and fresh blood was sliding down.

"What the-" Lloyd began to say but stopped himself as Tear knelt on the ground. Kratos narrowed his eyes and noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye.  
"Guardian!" He put up a shield in time to avoid being shot at by the blond god General Legretta. Sheena leaped into action, attacking Legretta, summersalted away to avoid being sliced by a black scythe from Largo, and backflipped towards her team to dodge a giant tiger creature. The group huddled up together, surrounding Tear, who silently cursed under her breath.

"Major Legretta! Why are you doing this?!" She shouted in anger at her former mentor, who just grinned.

"Van's motives and ideals were essential to survival in this world. His ideas are perfect, for a perfect world." She said, but Lloyd raised a blade.  
"You can't just say someones ideals are enough for something! Because your own ideas are just as important!" He shouted, but had to cut his conversation short to avoid Largo's scythe.  
"How would you know about ideals?" She shot back. Lloyd made a wound in the Arietta's Liger, and continued.

"Because I have them! I have goals and beliefs that no one is lower or higher than one another!" He said. Legretta just stared.  
"Sorry boy, but in this world, there will always be someone stronger than someone else!" She shouted. Tear stood up, and snapped.

"That's enough!" She said, and began to chant something. Sheena swung at Largo, who leaped away to avoid the attack, and then Sheena backflipped towards the group who were huddling together.  
_"Croa riou croa neu tue rei croa riou ze rei va" _

The Hymn was entirely unfamiliar to Lloyd, but the result of it caused a catastrophe.  
"Grand Cross!" Tear shouted, and massive amounts of sixth fonons gathered at the top of one mountain peak, and exploded into energy. Tear then put up a force field in time to protect her friends, and the god Generals we're silent.

"Damn." Largo said, as the avalanche swept them away.

Once the snow cleared, the group wasted no time in pressing onwards. Kratos and Collete volenteered to go on ahead and scout. Lloyd decided to break a question.  
"So, are you gonna be okay?" He asked, and Tear nodded.

"I'm used to wounds like those. Being a soldier it's customary to get used to pain in battle." She said, and Lloyd frowned.  
"That, doesn't sound too pleasent." He muttered. They were nearing a corner path when the two angels returned.  
"Hiya Lloyd." Collete said, and Lloyd returned the smile. Raine turned to Kratos.  
"What's the situation?" She asked, and Kratos frowned.  
"We found a group of six traveling towards a large door. Storm is with them." He said grimly. Lloyd cursed.

"Shit. That ain't good." He said, and Tear smiled a bit.  
"We'll, the six others must be Luke and my old team." She said, and Collete nodded.  
"Yeah, there are six of them, except for Storm, who's posing as you again." She said quietly. Sheena swore under her breath, as Zelos finaly spoke up.

"Well, a fight with her apparently can't be avoided." He said bluntly, and Lloyd nodded.

"Right, but I have an idea." He smirked, and the others huddled around.

Lloyd and the others walked more of the distance, until Collete pointed.  
"See! That's the door we saw!" She said, and Tear frowned.  
"Dist was right. They are releasing the Sephiroth." She said. Lloyd frowned.

"What is a Sephiroth?" He asked, and Tear sighed.  
"Special ruin places that hold the land up. Here, the planet is currently toxicated with a poison called Miasma." She said, and Raine gasped.  
"Miasma? But that was recorded way back on Sylvarant." She said, and Lloyd just shrugged. Kratos pressed forwards.

"Come on, lets set this plan in motion." He said, and they all nodded. They walked over to the gate, and pressed themselves up to nearby walls to spy. Storm was indeed with Luke's group, which was Guy, Natalia, Anise, Asch and Ion. Lloyd tried to catch what they were saying, but it was too far away to tell. They were in front of some giant device that was in the center. Tear spoke.  
"That's the Sephiroth. That's where you would control the land, and decide to let it fall, or stay afloat. The doors that are used to protect them can only be opened by a Fon Master, Ion. Over by the pedestal." She said, and pointed to the familiar small boy who was Fon Master. Lloyd looked at Storm who appeared to be approaching the Pedestal.  
"What's Storm doing?" He asked, and Tear appeared genuinly shocked.

"No! She's going to drop the land!" She said quietly, and that's all Lloyd needed to know. He turned to Sheena, who nodded. She enchanted Lloyd's weapon with fire, and driven by fury, Lloyd leaped from his hiding place.  
"Don't you dare! Rising Phoenix!" He shouted, and narrowly avoided piercing Storm in the back, but then Lloyd backflipped onto higher ground Luke spun around, to see what was going on.

"What the?! Who the hell are you?!" He shouted, and his allies readied weapons. Lloyd's group came into view, except Tear, who remained hidden.  
Lloyd and Luke stared at each other, before Natalia released an arrow, which Lloyd had to move to avoid.  
"Well? Who are you?" Natalia said angrily. Storm was out of view, and she silently smiled wickidly, her eyes reverting back to their normal Icy self. Luke gripped his blade, as did Lloyd, but neither of them attacked. Anise frowned.  
"I'm confused. What's going on?" She said, but Ion began to gaze at Storm.  
"What's wrong Ion?" She asked, and Ion turned to face Anise.

"Somethings not right here. It's almost as if our enemy is staring us in the face." He said quietly. Luke and the others spun around to face him.  
"What do you mean?" Guy said seriously. Ion furrowed his brows.

"It's like the enemy is among us, and we don't even know it." He said, and a loud laughing sound filled the air.  
"Well done sherlock. You found us out." A loud male voice filled the air, and Lloyd's group spun around to see a middle aged man gripped Tear by her arm. He had Dark blue hair, his eyes were also lightning blue, like Storm's, but darker slightly.  
"And just who the hell are you?! Let her go!" Lloyd shouted. The man laughed.  
"For someone who is in a bad situation, you have guts kid. Fine, I shall tell you. I am Edge. One of Trinity's Generals." Edge said haughtily. Genis frowned.  
"There's that name again, Trinity." He said, but was interrupted by a loud explosion outside. Edge spun around in time to see snow coming his way. He covered his face, to avoid getting it in his face, which gave Tear all the time to kick him in the groin, and get away. She scramble to her feet, as Storm flipped overhead, towards Edge.

"Edge, this isn't a good time. We need to retreat." She said, and Edge growled.  
"Bah, shit." He said, and true to Storm's words, they left. Tear turned to see Luke behind her, and she smiled ackwardly.  
"Hi Luke, miss me much?" She said. Luke said nothing, and just enveloped her in a tight embrace.

TLC-Awww. That's so sweet. The redhead missed his girlfriend.  
Kalas-Dude, you are so cruel.  
TLC-Am not.

Kalas-Are too.

TLC-Am,

Zelos-Guys, shhhh! I'm trying to finish watching Luke and Tear hug. It's so cute.

TLC-Ass. Anyways, next chapter has more developements with the now group of fourteen (Including Jade who isn't there at the moment.)  
Kalas-R&R please! And this story gets updated sooner!  
TLC-Sayonara! ^_^


	8. The Aegis Legacy

TLC-I am back! I am not dead! And the new year is so close!  
Kalas-Someone's really giddy today.

TLC-So what? This is my favorite chapter of Trinity thus far.

Kalas-Because, why?  
TLC-It's mostly action, and Fluff.

Kalas-...Fluff?  
TLC-You know it's, ah never mind. Disclaimer Kalas.

Kalas-The Lone Canine does not own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of the Abyss. OC's Storm and Edge are his though.

TLC-I has written a little song on fiction press. Called Move on to 2010. If you want to read it, go to , then use the search, and type in Move on to 2010. You should find it. Oh, and this chapter will show alot about Storm's past. How and Why? You'll have to read it.

Kalas-...Reading time now?  
TLC-Yes it is.

* * *

Chapter 8-The Aegis legacy

The Sylvarant team and the Auldrant team had split up around the main Sephiroth area to relax, so the tensions of the battle with Storm would settle. Zelos was staring at one of the structures of the Sephiroth, somewhat intruiged. Natalia came up behind him, and cleared her throat. Zelos turned around and smiled.  
"Hi." He said bluntly, and Natalia returned the gesture.

"Hi. My name's Natalia, and yours is," She said, and Zelos straightened his composure.  
"Zelos Wilder." He responded calmly. Natalia cocked her head, confused as to how Zelos was acting, but she shook it off.

"Um, I came to thank you for watching over our friend Tear. You see she's really important to us, and Luke." She said, her voice trailing off.

"I can tell. Most of your friends were standing next to the fake one called Storm. It must be hard to have a friend just dissapear, out of the blue." Zelos said, trying to comfert her. Natalia looked at him.

"Thanks, for that, anyway." She said, trying to force a smile. Zelos frowned.  
"Your welcome, but if I have to say something, let me say that you shouldn't be afraid to show your feelings. No one is going to look down on you for that." He said, in a wise tone. Natalia nodded graciously.  
"Thank you Zelos." She said, smiling now. Zelos smiled too, happy he could help.

Genis was trying to keep his distance from Raine, because she and Guy were being Ruin Maniacs over this place. Anise had decided to talk to him. She walked up beside him and grinned.  
"Hi, I'm Anise." She said, and held out her hand. Genis took it and smiled.  
"Hey, I'm Genis. It's nice to see someone my age in a group. Up till now, I was the shortest, and youngest." He responded, causing Anise to giggle.

"I know how that is, but hey, Tear isn't so much older, she's only sixteen." She said, earning a suprised look from Genis.  
"Seriously? Wow." He chuckled. He was going to be good friends with Anise.

The rest of the group were talking in these pairs. Lloyd and Ion, Asch and Kratos, Raine and Guy. Sheena was talking in a circle with Zelos and Natalia, while Collete talked with Anise and Genis. They all were giving time to Luke and Tear to have some time to talk alone.  
They were sitting next to each other outside the Sephiroth, deeply in conversation.  
"So, how was it over there?" Luke asked nervously. Tear grinned.  
"It was interesting, having a different culture to live with." She answered, and Luke smiled. Before he could say anything else, A bright blue ball of fur popped up out of nowhere.  
"Tear-san has come home! Mieu!" The little Cheagle declared with utter joy, as it nuzzled Tear's face. She couldn't help but giggle happily at that. Luke smiled.  
"I'm glad your okay." He said, and Tear looked to him.  
"Thanks, you really have changed." She said quietly. Luke opened his mouth to speak, put Tear put a finger to his mouth, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Luke grinned at this. He liked these moments of peace with each other, and was glad she was back. The peace didn't last long, because a familiar necromancer's voice hailed out to them.

"Okay lovebirds, break it up." Jade chuckled, and they spun around nervously.

"J-Jade! It's not like that!" Luke pleaded, but Jade shook his head.  
"Is it Luke? It's quite self evident in this situation." He chuckled viciously. Tear sighed while Luke tried to tell Jade it was nothing. Tear cleared her throat.  
"Well, lets set our minds out of those thoughts and back into the present situation." She said responsibly. Jade nodded.  
"What's the situation of the Sephiroth Luke?" He asked. The pair of teens stood up.  
"We have yet to activate it. A fake Tear called Storm was here, and interrupted us." Luke answered.  
"Storm was here?" Jade said, more concerned. Tear nodded.  
"She was trying to trick Luke and the others into letting her destroy the Sephiroth." She said, but was cut off by Luke.  
"You know her?" He asked. Jade nodded.  
"We bumped into her on several occasions in the other world." He answered. Deciding to let it go, Luke brushed the snow off his shoulder and motioned to the Sephiroth.

"Since we're all here, lets get started then." He said. Jade and Tear nodded. They made their way back into the Sephiroth, and Tear called out.

"Everyone, gather around. We're going to activate the Sephiroth." She said, and everyone, except Raine gathered around her. Genis began to pry Raine away from the center device, which upset her.  
"Wait, but I'm not finished studying it." She whined. Genis pulled his sister along towards the others, and Jade nodded.  
"Lets begin then. Everyone, be on the lookout for trouble. If you spot it, attempt to stop it." He commanded, and everyone nodded in unison. Tear was to start. She walked up to the pedestal, and placed her hands on it. Immediately, the Sephiroth came to life. Lloyd's group stared in awe at the spectacle, while Luke's group just stood there. They had seen this before, so they were used to it. Luke was up next he stepped forward and put his hands up. Jade was busy giving commands while Lloyd stared in wonder.  
"I like this place already!" He whispered with glee. Raine silently smacked him in the head.

"Quiet! I'm trying to study this while I've got the chance." She hissed in his ear. Kratos pointed to the others.

"Their done." He said, and they all looked back. Tear was stepping away from the pedestal, and Luke had lowered his arms.

"Well that went smoother than I thought. A little Too easy." Guy said nervously. Jade nodded.

"He's right. Stay on your guard. There may be enemies waiting for us anywhere." He said in an orderly tone. The group began to walk out, but Luke slowed down so he was next to Tear. Jade looked back.  
"You sure your not a couple Luke?" He called, causing Luke to glare daggers at the Colonel. He shrugged innocently, and followed the others. Luke stopped walking, causing Tear to stop too.  
"What's wrong Luke?" She asked. Luke shook his head.  
"It's nothing. But, I'm getting a strange feeling, like were in danger." He said. Tear frowned.  
"Then lets go see what's wrong." She said reassuringly. Luke nodded, and they began to walk out, but something caught Tear's attention out of the corner of her eye. Before she could react, a strong kick sent her flying forwards into the snow. Before Luke could do anything, the attacker had pinned Tear to the ground, and a Shurikena at her throat. Luke drew his blade threateningly. The attack turned towards him to reveal he was Edge.  
"Don't try anything, boy. Don't try and get her to sing, cause I am faster than you know, and I can cut her throat, so she'll never sing again." He hissed evily. Luke lowered his blade.  
"Much better. Now, Storm, restrain them." Edge commanded, and Storm came out of nowhere behind Luke, and didn't give him any time to react. She struck the back of his head and knocked him unconscious. Tear wanted to scream for him, but the blade at her neck wouldn't let her. Storm walked up triumphantly.

"I win, pretty girl." She said, her icy tone really evident. Edge held his blade over Tear, and stabbed her in the shoulder. She cried out in pain, before blacking out.

".....Ung, ah, ow." Luke muttered in pain. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he found himself in a jail cell. He also noticed Sheena standing in front of the door. She turned around at the sound of his voice.

"Your awake." She said, and knelt beside him.  
"I'm okay. Where are we?" He said, and looked out of the cell. There were angels coming here and there. Sheena frowned.

"In the world where Tear dissapeared to, called Sylvarant, there was a tower called the Tower of Salvation. Angels resided there, so this must be it." She said, causing Luke to frown too.

"So, do you know where everyone else is?" He asked. Sheena shook her head.  
"No. We were seperated once we were brought to the Tower. But maybe Lloyd is nearby. I can sense his energy." She said hopefully. Luke nodded.

"That's all we need then. Stand back." He said, and Sheena raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. She stepped out of the way, and Luke brought up his hands. The two angels that were watching them stared.  
"Hey, what do you think your doing?!" They shouted, and began to float over. Luke grinned.

"Bye bye, suckers. **Radiant Howl!**" He shouted, and the energy blast met the Angels head on, causing the explosion he needed. The bars holding the pair broke, and they were home free.  
"Nice one. Great, now lets go find Lloyd and the others." Sheena said, and brought out her cards. Luke picked up a sword from one of the fallen Cruxis angels, and strapped it onto his back.  
"Lets go." He said in a determined voice. Without hesitating, the pair leaped over a huge gap, which seperated the cells from the tower, and broke into a dead run. Luke was sure to pick up two swords for Lloyd. The pair came across a portal next.  
"Lloyd's really close. This portal should take us there." She said.

"Lets do it." Luke said, and walked into the portal, followed by Sheena.  
They appeared behind a stack of crates, and the sound of battle was evident. The pair cautiosly peeked over the ledge and saw Storm and Lloyd battling. Lloyd had stolen his swords back apparently, and Storm was using her own sword. Unlike the first sword, this one was pure silver bladed. the three foot blade she used had small prongs attatched.  
"That's a swordbreaker. It could catch Lloyd off guard-" Sheena said, but there was no need to finish, because Storm vaulted over Lloyd and brought her blade down, causing him to guard. Storm smirked, and tore his blades away with the prongs attatched to her own. Lloyd cursed under his breath, but before Storm could finish him, Luke stook up.  
"Lloyd catch!" He called and launched the two blades he brought towards Lloyd. This caught Storm off guard, and Lloyd took that oppertunity to leap over her, and catch the blades in mid air. He landed on his feet, and was joined by Sheena and Luke. Storm brought her cold gaze upon them.

"So you did escape. Guess those cells are good for nothing. Oh well, at least I can kill you all now." She laughed menacingly. Luke grinned.  
"I don't think so." He said, and brought his blade up. That's when the real battle began. Storm attacked Sheena first, but a well timed Guardian seal blocked the attack. Luke wasted no time either, and swung his blade verticly. Storm brought her hand up and caught it, causing some of the black glove she wore to tear.  
"Wha-" Luke began, but Storm was fast. She kicked the blade out of her direction. Luke retained his grip on it so it wouldn't fly away. Lloyd came up behind her and brought his blades down. Storm sidestepped and slashed his shoulder.  
"Gah!" Lloyd muttered. Storm smirked triumphantly.  
"First blood drawn." She said, as Lloyd clutched his shoulder, and dropped one of his blades in the process. Luke growled and charged again, this time drawing some of Storm's blood. She howled in pain and backed away.  
"Why you! You'll pay for that." She hissed, and brought her blade up. Luke grinned. Sheena frowned, and Lloyd just shook his head. Storm's face lit up with rage, and lightning began to descend in all directions towards Luke. They struck him intensely, one after the other. It was like no other thing he had felt. When he was attacked by Van, that blast only wounded him. This felt far worse than that, and Storm pointed her blade forwards.

"End this battle, lightning spirit! **Courl's Eye!**" She screamed, and the resulting explosing sent Luke flying.  
"Luke!" Sheena screamed, but luckily, the red headed nobel had brought up a shield to reduce the damage. Still, the attack put Luke out of the fight. Sheena shot a death glare at Storm.  
"You are so dead!" She screamed, but Lloyd raised a hand.  
"Sheena don't. I'll finish this one." He said calmly. A fierce aura of energy emmited from his body, and Sheena gasped.  
"He's in overlimit!" She said, in utter shock. Lloyd leaped upward, and brought his body down upon Storm. Before she had a chance to recover from her own Mystic Arte, Lloyd unleashed his fury.  
"**Falcon's Crest!**" And that was it. The massive energy erupted from the ground, searing every part of Storm's body. She cried out in agony, and very quickly the attack vanished. She fell to the ground, and Lloyd collapsed onto the ground. Sheena ran up to him, with Luke in tow. Lloyd got back up, and forced himself forward. He stood above Storm, and held his blade in hand. He put it slowly towards Storm's body. He gasped over and over.  
"With this, the suffering will end." He said, and began to descend, when another voice hailed to him.

"Is this how you want to be remembered?" It said, and all gazes were averted to the source. Van Grants stood in front of one of the bridges. Luke growled, but kept quiet.

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd said. Van sighed.

"When you finaly return to the surface, do you want to be remembered as a hero, or as a killer. The one who ended an innocent life?" He said calmly. Sheena shook her head.

"She's not innocent! She has tried to kill us many times!" She spat back. Van shook his head.  
"No, she is innocent. I am not." He said, and bowed. Lloyd frowned.  
"Do explain then." He said without emotion. Van nodded.  
"Several years. Storm has a family Legacy, that I felt she needed to fullfill. Every member of the Aegis family fought along side the Order of Lorelei and Cruxis in the past. It felt right to have her fight too. But this is different. Because Myself and Cruxis have had different motives than in the past. So that's why she is innocent. She has been fed lies, and I regret doing so." He said, and looked down. A few silent seconds passed before he looked up.

"I am going to let you go, because Storm needs treatment. The next time we meet, Lloyd Irving, I will fight you, and win." He said coldly, and walked away. The trio was silent for a few seconds, before Luke spoke.  
"So who's carrying her?" He asked. Lloyd stood.  
"I will. I got her into this mess, and I'll get her out." He said, and picked the unconscious Aegis girl up, and walked away, with the others in tow.

* * *

TLC-A little shorter than the chapter trend of long I've had, but this felt like a good place to end the chapter.

Kalas-I think there may be a pairing for Storm.  
TLC-Maybe.  
Kalas-R&R! and this story gets updated faster!


End file.
